Posted on 03/28/2016 4:11:45 PM PDT by conservativejoy
NBC anchor Chuck Todd isn’t buying the National Enquirer hit piece on Ted Cruz. On the March 27 edition of Meet the Press, Todd commented that “there’s more evidence that ties Trump to planting the story, than there is to the story itself tying anything to Cruz.”
Todd also accused Trump of taking a page out of the “LBJ playbook.” Discussing the story with NBC chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell, Todd retorted that “Trump is almost trying to borrow a page from the LBJ playbook, when he put out a statement on the National Enquirer – let me put it up here. He basically said, ‘I hope that story's not true,’ but also trying to fan the flames. Hey, look, the National Enquirer got it right on Edwards, got it right on O.J. Simpson, I hope they’re wrong about – and then he throws in ‘lyin’ Ted Cruz’. This is – this is a sort of ‘make him deny it’ type of LBJ thing.”
NBC has consistently done a superior job of pointing out the many reasons to doubt the Enquirer story. In her reporting on Friday's NBC Nightly News and Saturday's Today show, NBC correspondent Hallie Jackson went further than her ABC and CBS colleagues in alerting viewers to the tabloid’s utter lack of evidence, its past boosting of Trump, and the categorical denials of two of the women linked to Cruz in the story.
On ABC's This Week, fill-in moderator Jonathan Karl did not match Todd's explicit skepticism of the Enquirer piece, but twice pressed Trump himself on the story:
JONATHAN KARL: Do you categorically guarantee that nobody on your campaign, nobody tied to your campaign, had anything to do with this National Enquirer story?
TRUMP: Totally. I had nothing to do with it....
KARL: But let me ask you, this story, this that we see in the National Enquirer, this kind of rumor mongering, should this kind of thing just be off limits? Do you condemn this story?
TRUMP: I don't care. I mean really I don't care. The National Enquirer did a story. It was their story. It wasn't my story. It was about Ted Cruz. I have no idea whether it was right or not.
Overall, ABC's This Week gave the sleazy tabloid story 2 minutes, 47 seconds of airtime, compared with 1 minute, 36 seconds on Meet the Press.
CBS’s Face the Nation didn’t touch on the controversy at all, which is consistent with CBS News’s recent history of giving much less air time (2 minutes) to this story on the morning and evening new shows over the weekend than either ABC or NBC did (7 and 6 minutes, respectively).
Transcript from Meet the Press on March 27:
CHUCK TODD: Hallie, this all came in Cruz world a little bit – you know – my this escalated quickly.
HALLIE JACKSON: Yeah.
TODD: But I guess, sort of, what happened here? And how did this go from this, I guess, a Super PAC's digital ad get turned into what it got turned into.
JACKSON: Right. And to look at the progression, as you noted, of what we've seen this week, Tuesday we're talking about this terror attack and candidates' responses to it, Saturday we're talking about the National Enquirer and the tabloid cover story that's out there. I think that this shows Donald Trump is able to shift the conversation with a single tweet. And the tweet that came out retweeting this image of Heidi Cruz next to Melania trump was stunning to, I think, the Cruz campaign. I think Ted Cruz was stunned and very emotional about this even before you started talking about the Enquirer story. And, I think that one of the things that Ted Cruz has been hit on he seems a little bit rehearsed, sometimes, a little bit inauthentic, that's a knock against him. Right now, he is emotional, he’s mad, and he’s showing it.
...
TODD: But it is, and Andrea, final thing, what was amazing, Trump is almost trying to borrow a page from the LBJ playbook, when he put out a statement on the National Enquirer – let me put it up here. He basically said, I hope that story's not true, but also trying to fan the flames. Hey, look, the National Enquirer got it right on Edwards, got it right on OJ Simpson, I hope they’re wrong about – and then he throws in ‘lyin’ Ted Cruz’. This is – this is a sort of ‘make him deny it’ type of LBJ thing.
ANDREA MITCHELL: Exactly. And, of course, as Hallie’s been reporting, and as Katy's been reporting he’s got a very close relationship with the people of National Enquirer. They are really – and they’ve endorsed him, so –
TODD: There's more evidence that ties Trump to planting the story than there is to the story itself tying anything to Cruz.
MITCHELL: Like, I hope this is not true, and then tell me everything about it. It has been a remarkable, extraordinary period and, as I say, at a time when he should be vulnerable on foreign policy.
He has said to “move on.” And that he hopes the stories that Cruz is a scurvy, skeesy, piece of crap are wrong.
“Shouldn’t Trump also be denouncing this type of sleazy, unsourced, uncorroborated crap? “
Cruz should deny it without using lawyerly nuance before anyone does anything.
I know Cruz supporters want to believe. Part of me wants to believe, even though I’m a single-issue anti-illegal immigration/wall-building voter that is supporting Trump.
Cruz to me sounds too much like slick-willy and his “meaning of is” excuse. That’s my opinion.
I also want to believe that Cruz didn’t start the whole pissing match by not standing up against the ad the pro-cruz PAC put out in Utah.
Trump denies “planting” the story, and the trail leading to Rubio is at least convincing to me.
So the only thing that matters is the truth. We don’t know it yet. Gossip is still part of politics, like it or not, but if Cruz has a schlong problem, then we’ll find out sooner or later.
I don’t feel sorry for Cruz when he gets hammered, or Trump when he gets hammered.
30,274 voters responded to our online poll asking if the the ongoing Ted Cruz sex scandal is true or not.
At the time of posting 65% (19,678) of voters think Ted Cruz did have an affair while 35% (10,595) say Cruz did not have an affair.
How many times do we have to tell the dumbasses that NE is run by HILLERY’S friend and supporter? Or do they just not care about the truth.
Trump is a Fu Manchu in you guys’ world. Is there nothing he does not control?
“He said the story was false. For those of you who are just learning English, that means it is not true.”
Sure. But “false” means different things to lawyers, especially when they are trying to make a jury think something didn’t happen when at least in part, it did happen.
It’s more than just English 101. It’s lawyer English that Cruz is speaking.
Why would Trump debate Cruz? Why possibly resuscitate a moribund campaign which has not even gotten 1/3 of the votes cast?
Beyond stupid. But I understand your desperation.
You know who has a worse chance the Trump of being elected? Cruz
The guy who can’t beat Trump is going to beat Hillary? How?
By having more Bimbo Eruptions then her husband?
If I were Trump, I would never go on any NBC program where F. Chuck Todd was within 10 miles. What a slimey little bastard! He knows Rubio shopped that story around, and Trump had nothing to do with it.
In the background of all this, Hillary is smiling. His supporters have convinced themselves that threats to sue, attacking anyone who challenges him through Twitter Wars, ect. ect is the path to the WH. They're going to be in for a rude awakening if he continues this behavior in the general. Maybe he'll get an invite to Hillary's Inaugural Ball But, I understand this is the primary season and so maybe he'll change during the general but doubtful
Well, Trump only dropped out of the debate when Rubio got out of the race so..... makes me wonder what he is afraid of....
Partisans always do this no matter who the candidate is. “He’s against my candidate, he’s an @ss. He likes my candidate he’s great.”
Or not?
Any truth to a Cruz mole in the Trump campaign?
If this is true, why would Trump ever want to debate Cruz again
CDM
@RWSurferGirl1
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I expect the resignation or firing of a Cruz mole in the Donald Trump camp within the next 48 hours. #CruzSexScandal
https://mobile.twitter.com/RWSurferGirl1?p=s
Is there a mole in the Trump campaign? If so, hope they are exposed and if it is any way against the law for Cruz to hire someone to actually act as a spy at a high level in the Trump campaign, that will only make Trump more popular.
Or not?
Any truth to a Cruz mole in the Trump campaign?
If this is true, why would Trump ever want to debate Cruz again
CDM
@RWSurferGirl1
Follow
I expect the resignation or firing of a Cruz mole in the Donald Trump camp within the next 48 hours. #CruzSexScandal
https://mobile.twitter.com/RWSurferGirl1?p=s
Didn’t I read recently that there was a Trump mole I the Cruz camp waiting to pull the trigger or some such?
Yep! He never had a chance on the Obamacare thing and knew it. His "poison pill" on Gang of Eight increased H1b visas 500% and doubled green cards. How is that a poison anything.
Then he fought for TPA, voted for cloture, and voted against the amendment to keep China & others out. He only opposed TPA/Fast Track on the final vote because they didn't need him.
Ted Cruz joins the establishment
Wrong, wrong and wrong. Hat trick!
But, Chuck Todd?
Unhinged partisans talking to themselves.
Time will tell 2nd. In the meantime, anything to paint Trump bad Cruz good -
I’m not a fan of candidates propped up by the open border freaks. I’m surprised you are.
Roger Stone Drops Bombshell After Bombshell About Cruz Sex Scandal: If It’s Not All True, “Sue Me Immediately”
Ted’s busy campaigning now. Cruz has three years to sue Roger Stone but I don’t know if Cruz will care enough to sue the pig.
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