On Tuesday, former NBC News host Chuck Todd criticized Democrats for “taking the bait” in their reaction to Republican redistricting strategies.
“They’re taking the bait. They’ve resolved to combat it by being just as ruthless. Revenge redistricting in Illinois, New York, California. They justify it as self-defense.
“But in truth, it’s precisely what Trump desires, for his adversaries to engage in his unlawful and immoral game on his terms within his universe,” Todd remarked on his show, “The Chuck ToddCast.”
The journalist also suggested Tuesday that the U.S. was headed toward a “cold civil war” amid the ongoing redistricting battles.
“And here we are. It’s the political version of the old saying, when you get into the mud with a pig, you both get dirty and the pig likes it.
“And don’t try to rationalize that, saying he’s a bad mob boss, so we’ll just be a good mob boss. The solution is no mob bosses at all,” he emphasized.
Last month, Beto O’Rourke, a former Democratic Texas Senate candidate, urged the Democratic Party to adopt a “ruthless” approach in their quest for power and supported partisan gerrymandering.
Todd also rejected comparisons to 1930s Germany.
“I dislike the facile comparisons to 1930s Germany. I detest the civil war predictions. I want to believe we’re much better than that,” he stated on his podcast.
He also referenced Godwin’s Law and summarized it by saying: “If you can’t make your point without invoking the Nazis, then you’re probably not very good at debating and making your point.”
Democratic lawmakers and members of the media have repeatedly compared Trump and his administration to 1930s Germany.
Todd went on to argue that it was “uncomfortable” to see mistakes being made “from the 1850s.”
“But let’s be honest, it’s a bit uncomfortable seeing how many mistakes from the 1850s, from 1850s America or pre-war Europe in the early 1930s are happening again right here. The normalization of the unacceptable.
“The rationalizing of ‘just this once we’ll breach our principle.’ ‘Just this once we’ll do this because it’s in the name of something bigger and better,’” he said.
“The founders gave us these tools to prevent this. They feared a king. They feared a united majority trampling on the rest of us. They didn’t imagine leaders who would just refuse to use the tools. They didn’t. They’d come back here and be appalled,” Todd continued.
