Former “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd has been one of President Joe Biden’s biggest loyalists.
But even Todd was clued in on the beginnings of Biden’s mental decline back in 2022 — even going so far as to say he knew Biden couldn’t run again.
Todd, now NBC News’ chief political analyst, discussed plummeting confidence in Biden’s campaign on a recent episode of his podcast “The Chuck Toddcast” with Politico columnist Jonathan Martin.
The bombshell takeaway straight from Todd’s mouth was that he claimed a senior Biden cabinet secretary told him in 2022 that President Biden couldn’t run again.
Todd recounted during his podcast, “I had a cabinet secretary two years ago — two years ago — out of the blue asked me, ‘Do you really think he’s gonna? He can’t run again like this.’ And I said, ‘Well, you have more interaction with him than I do.’ And they said, ‘I don’t have a lot of interaction with him.’ This is a pretty senior cabinet secretary. This was two years ago.”
He added, “It’s the classic open secret, the nonversation. It’s the story everybody knows, and that everybody was afraid to talk about.”
Todd was also critical of Biden’s defiance on staying in the race, arguing that this could change history’s view of the 46th president. In the episode, the two pundits also discussed potential exit paths for Biden to step down, and both criticized Democratic Party members for refusing to publicly voice their concerns.
“Everything I’ve learned, it has made me rethink a lot of the Biden biography. I still can’t believe he ran for president in the first place, given that his family was in crisis in 2018. You look at what has happened, I can’t believe he has put his family through this. And now, looking at his behavior now, in clinging to this, I think the entire narrative on Joe Biden is gonna change. Everything’s been about his ambition, and his ambition comes first,” said Todd.
Todd also called out the Biden administration for failing to understand why some Democrats are frustrated with the president.
“The issue you have is there’s been no self-reflection. There’s been no grace, if you will. He’s attacked his own party members without simply acknowledging, ‘I get it. I understand why you’re concerned,’” Todd said.
“The reason people are angry at him is not because they don’t like him. They’re angry at him because they’re afraid of Donald Trump. And the fact that he doesn’t acknowledge that feeling I think is why he’s not getting the benefit of the doubt from elected officials as he should,” he added.
Love him or hate him. Todd was onto something we’re seeing play out today.