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Lawrence O’Donnell And Chuck Todd Predict The ‘Embarrassment’ Potential Of The Trump Debate

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The last time Donald Trump was a relevant political actor in the news cycle, it took a little longer than for most commentators for Lawrence O’Donnell to let go. Now that he’s back, O’Donnell began today’s episode of The Last Word with a thorough excoriation of Trump, Newt Gingrich for meeting with him, and a post-mortem with Chuck Todd on his Trump interview this morning.

RELATED: Donald Trump Keeps Feud With Lawrence O’Donnell Alive With Fairly Tame Hate Mail

Noting that Gingrich had “debased himself by meeting with Trump in New York– and it is not easy for Newt to debase himself,” O’Donnell began by wondering whether Gingrich enjoyed the time with Trump because he was “finally hanging out with a guy who is tied in marriages.” He went on to hit Trump harder than Gingrich, however, bringing up his repeated claim that Trump “does not have enough money to finance a presidential campaign… and is not a billionaire, he simply plays on one television.” He then turned to the contentious conversation Todd had with Trump this morning, as Todd had suggested that a Trump endorsement could do more harm than good, something Trump replied indignantly he knew was not possible, has he had studied polls at the Wharton School of Business.

“I do really believe that someone will be worse off if you endorse a Republican candidate for president and I don’t believe you studied polls at Wharton,” O’Donnell replied. “You were an undergraduate for two years at Wharton in the 1960s, before polls were even invented,” adding that Wharton is not a political science school.

RELATED: Lawrence O’Donnell: Newt Gingrich Is The New Herman Cain

O’Donnell then turned for further discussion to Todd himself, who noted that, among others, Karl Rove was not happy with this development (as this broadcast aired, in fact, Rove was hopping mad over at Fox News), and “wants the Republican National Committee to officially get involved,” the problem with that being that “with every hour, another candidate agrees to the debate.”

O’Donnell proposed that there was a good reason for the establishment to be worried. “They will produce stuff for us to use the next day,” he explained, but “all you can do is end up with… varying levels of embarrassment.” Essentially, O’Donnell argued there was no way to “win” this debate for anyone but Donald Trump. Todd agreed that it would be “a de facto episode of The Apprentice,” adding that “how some of our friends at other news organizations have gone about [debates] have made it sort of ugly.”

The segment via MSNBC below:

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  • http://twitter.com/Seanmj63376 Sean Johnson

    The embarrassment was Chuck Todd getting his ass handed to him this morning and Larry O’s ratings. Oh, and the fact that Donald Trump’s show pays Chuck & Larry’s wages.

  • Anonymous

    They should discuss the embarrassment reality that is MSDNC. Also, try looking up “schmuck” in the dictionary. It has a picture of LOD.

  • Anonymous

    Teabaggers aren’t embarrassed by Trump because they have no shame, Herb Cain was a perfect example of this fact.  Teabaggers lost one serial adulterer and immediately jumped to next sleaziest one they could find, Newt.

  • us995

    msdnc is failing in it’s duty to deflect for Obama

  • Anonymous

    Hand him his ass? By being a belligerent asshole, attacking Todd when he knew very well Todd couldn’t fight back? 

  • Anonymous

    You mean encyclopedia don’t you? Dctionaries don’t have pictures. But you wouldn’t know that would you?

  • us995

    the democrats claim there sleazy serial adulterer bubba Clinton was a great president

  • us995

    if he had a set of balls he would fight back nbc neutered him

  • Anonymous

    Seriously? Chuck Todd couldn’t fight back against an unruly clown on his own show?  He didn’t fight back because he implied that Trump had asked to be on the show and Trump hit back with the “your producers called me 40 times” story, which Chuck did not dispute.

    Like most journalists, Chuck Todd is incredibly thin-skinned, so it was a lot of fun watching him get beaten up today, even if the guy doing it was someone as stupid and odious as Donald Trump.

  • Joke Scareborough

    The funny thing is there’s no difference between a Donald Trump hosted debate and a MSNBC hosted debate when it comes to professionalism, stature, relevance and bias, so these MSNBC clowns look like giant a-holes (well, even more so than usual, which is quite an accomplishment).

  • us995

    also look under awlful show

  • Anonymous

    Chuck Todd’s mustache can take Trump’s hair, but the real match-up I’d like to see Larry and Trump meeting in person and going all Thunderdome on each other.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_45S32GWGDRUJIL6E2U4HOZW4BM Bob

    Todd embarrassed himself by giving a forum to a liar, allowing him to lecture him on the truth and being too starstruck by reality TV to call Trump out for a single one of his many, many lies.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_45S32GWGDRUJIL6E2U4HOZW4BM Bob

    you live on Bizarro Earth, don’t you?

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_45S32GWGDRUJIL6E2U4HOZW4BM Bob

    It’s ‘their,’ lad.

  • us995

    your momys basement needs better airflow

  • Anonymous
  • us995

    thanks you proved the teacher’s union failed me again

  • us995

    you mean dictionary thier; lad

  • us995

    mslsd is a epic failure

  • us995

    he seems to live in the real world you might be on Bizarro Earth your home planet

  • WiddleBabyDanielson

    you mean there?

  • us995

    I don’t know talk to bob he’s chief of the spelling police

  • Anonymous

    Bob works under my supervision.

  • Charles Ulysses Feney

    A possum headed bankrupt who’s too big to fail
    Thinks the electoral process is for sale
    He want to moderate
    His own personal debate
    So the candidates can kiss under his tail!
    ________________________________
    Charles Ulysses Feney

  • http://twitter.com/WorldDivider Mark Prior

    Democrats aren’t embarrassed by Obama because they are too dense to realize he’s an economic illiterate who has made our economic situation worst. As for the debate sure Trump is a shady figure like Obama, however I don’t think figures like Bachmann and Santorum have much to lose in the end when you consider where they are at this point in the race.

  • Anonymous

    “The embarrassment was Chuck Todd getting his ass handed to him …”

    Yeah, in what passes for your mind. Trump did ask to come on, he just didn’t initiate it. You don’t seriously believe that Trump would EVER pass up an opportunity to respond to a critic, do you?

    You just can’t deal with the skewering that your idols with feet of clay get on MSNBC.
    Not only do you take it personally, as you should, because it’s also directed at the morons, you again, who support these fools, but you can’t stay away from liberal sites, like this, so you can get dumped on all over again by us.
    So now, in the leadup to this farce/debate, as well as its aftermath, you can suffer the exquisite agony that masochists like you crave, while Trump gets dumped on, and you do, too, as you make your feeble, lame-ass attempts to respond.
    And fail, every time.

  • us995

    God bless you have bob check that out

  • Anonymous

    Go ahead, clown, discuss it if you can.
    Or better yet, stick to your cheap shots, with no facts or back-up.
    That’s the best any of you clowns can ever do.

  • Anonymous

    Nah, you’re just an ignorant slob.

  • us995

    what?

  • us995

    maybe I also earned a masters degree

  • Joke Scareborough

    Did you get thrown out of your OWS tent or something?

  • us995

    drink all the koolaid you want but don’t expect people to follow you over the cliff

  • Anonymous

    It’s past your bedtime.

    It’s also wise to not talk about cheap shots and then refer to clowns twice in a post. Kinda defeats your point.

  • Anonymous

    Are you for real? You come on here every day writing like a 2nd grader and you seem to be proud of it.

  • Anonymous

    LOL, sounds like Little Larry is jealous of Trump. Why else would he go on and on and on over the Donald? LOLOL Lawrence, Ed Schultz, Chrissy Tingles, and Trup are all jokes.

  • Rex derWunderGott

    Fine, snark away – but we actually learned something in this segment – that “Ion TV” is that old “Pax TV” network in new clothing. Hey, Google Pax TV – fundys meet neocons TV.

  • Anonymous

    I have never seen Todd be pugnacious with anyone. He is a politics statistics kinda guy. He used to be their political director. He’s not a fighting kinda guy. It would have been very different if Savannah Guthrie was doing it though. Even someone like a Tamron Hall who still hosts a straight news show would have fought back aggressively. 

  • Anonymous

    You have mental problems…seek help, teahadist. 

  • Anonymous

    AN* 

    Carry on……..

  • Anonymous

    He was not?
    http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/01/09/bush-on-jobs-the-worst-track-record-on-record/

    He created more jobs than Reagan, Bush Sr and Bush Jr did. COMBINED. 

    Left office with budget surplus.

    Maybe it explains his immense popularity today…an impeachment notwithstanding?
    http://www.gallup.com/poll/116584/presidential-approval-ratings-bill-clinton.aspx

  • Anonymous

    Lawrence does it because he knows Trump has a thin skin especially when it comes to amyone questioning his power or influence or his successes/wealth. Mark Cuban tore him a new asshole a few months ago. Might want to google it sometime…;)

  • Anonymous

    wonder if conservatives, renowned for their consistency, derogatorily label Gingrich as a ‘celebrity’ for wanting to hang around with Trump as they did Obama in 2008 through their mouthpiece, none other than reality show star sarah palin

  • Anonymous

    In other words, you didn’t actually see the video. No sentient human being could have watched this interview and come away with any impression other than the fact that Trump is a rude, arrogant, self-aggrandizing media whore and Todd was the model of restraint.

  • Anonymous

    MSNBC talking about someone else being embarrassed, especially these two jerks, is just as much fun as Chrissy Matthews, the spitter extradinnaire, calling someone else a clown.

    These finger pointers keep forgetting you point one finger at someone else, you are pointing three at yourself.

    Thanks for the laughs Frances.

    I so remember when LOD had to be physically removed from the set after calling a true VET a liar, tens times or more.  They had to restrain him, med him, and make excuses for him.

    And he thinks others will be embarrassed.  Poor MSNBC and COMCAST – two of the biggest jerks on the air.

  • Anonymous

    I love how these two clowns think they can create influence in the election, the only people that bother to watch are Obama cheerleaders anyway, all 6 of them.

  • Anonymous

    The sad truth is that Trump is the perfect moderator for a Republican debate. He’s as unserious, unhinged and unnecessary as the candidates themselves. Anyone who’d willingly associate with this self-serving jerk needs to be kept as far away from Pennsylvania Avenue as is humanly possible.

  • Anonymous

    Your world must be a very, very sad place. Your every post reeks of dementia, desperation and despair.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_76F7SAA3N35X4IBY5BGVQML2YM James

    Todd and O’Donnell should have their own debate about whether it’s better to eat raw potatoes or fried when squatting around magic stones and lakes.

  • Anonymous

    Oh but having a parking spot at letterman is OK for our acting commander in chief, and Blitzer and Pelly were great moderators ? For an unserious person I’m willing to bet he’s more successful than you.

  • The Real Royal Emperor

    Actually, it is widely agreed that the worst debate was FOX “News” #2, the one with the doorbell timer, and the best was the CNBC.  So, I’m not sure your analogy works.

  • Anonymous

    Apparently your a flip flopper so who are you to call someone names, exgoper, like you were ever a goper. What do you think it gives you more validity claiming to have formerly been intelligent.

  • The Real Royal Emperor

    Actually, the Newt has long been the sleaziest of the Republican candidates. Herb was something of a piker.

  • The Real Royal Emperor

    No personal accountability, I see. How Teapublican of you.

  • Anonymous

    Oh stop projecting.  You lefties really need to get over thinking the rest of us live like you.  Honestly.

  • Anonymous

    It is always nice to here what 2 losers have to say.

  • Anonymous

    I don’t think either Fox or MSNBC , who are both so blatantly biased pandering networks thinly disguised as news, deserve much stature, but a loud mouth media whore reality TV celebrity is a notch or two, {or ten} down from them.

    But hey, candidates show up on late night talk shows and other non serious venues, so what the hell. I still have more respect for those who said, “Not interested” 

  • Anonymous

    IMO, the GOP and conservatives have themselves to blame for candidates personal lives and flaws now being part of the political picture, because gross hypocrites like Newt decided to go after Clinton personally when they couldn’t beat him politically.
    Now their own words of family values and their phony pandering to conservative Christians comes back to bite them.

  • Anonymous

    Certainly candidates make a lot of non serious appearances. If they claim this is just for fun and not a serious debate that’s fine. I still have more respect for the two who said “No thanks” Trump has insulted the process with his cartoonish talk of running and as Paul pointed out, burned some good conservatives by canceling at the last minute.
    I doubt Trump really gives a crap about conservatives or the presidency. He just uses it to promote himself.  

  • Anonymous

    I hear your point but you used an important word ” candidate “. You can’t blame them for trying every way possible to get their messages thru to the American public, whether it will be entertainment format or hard hitting remains to be seen but all the protest over who the moderator is is ridiculous. We will all be talking about that on Dec 28th
    But I’m waiting to hear your thoughts on the dignity angle of Obama appearing on late night shows.
    That not very respectful of the office either and he is the sitting president.

  • Anonymous

    As Herb Cain would advise, you need to blame yourself for your stupidity.

  • Anonymous

    It still does not keep Trump from being an idiot and you from being worse for buying into Trump’s lunacy.

  • Anonymous

    You’re a one-trick pony, Tina. And not a very good one at that. You come here every day and post the same tired, hackneyed, discredited talking points about the librul media.

    We get it. You’re a victim. Boo f—ing hoo.

    Quit your incessant whining and go someplace else if you’re so miserable here and can’t post anything positive. There are a gazillion right wing nutjob websites that would be only to happy to hear all about your perpetual misery.

  • http://mediamatters.org/ Leedog

    It’s amazing how ignorant Republicans are for allowing Trump to use their Presidential nominees for his own personal publicity!!

  • Anonymous

    You really are pretty clueless if you don’t know the difference between a presidential debate and a talk show appearance. Buy a clue.

  • WiddleBabyDanielson

    Hear.

    Dumbest.

  • Anonymous

    Speaking of clueless, do you know the difference of the ” sitting President ” needing to even appear on a late night show to try to sell his ideas to the American public vs ” candidates trying to inform the American public as to where they stand on the important issues of today.
    Why are you so threatened by that? Don’t worry, it’ll be alright. You don’t have to watch if you don’t want to.

  • Anonymous

    Tiny Tampon won’t go anywhere else. This is the only place that she is acknowledged. Acknowledged as a dumb ass, but acknowledeged nonetheless. Pretty sad.

  • Anonymous

    Yeah. Pretty sure you can chalk that up to being a dumb ass but nice try.

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for making my case for me.

    Look, just go ahead and nominate Gingrich. And do so with my blessing.

  • Anonymous

    Try using spellcheck and some basic punctuation and I’ll answer your question about intelligence.

  • Holistic

    LOD trying to help Todd save face from his being outed by Trump for lying

  • Anonymous

    You’re not very smart, are you? I stated facts. MSDNC is a joke. LOD is a schmuck. I’m no fan of Trump, but these two MSDNC losers don’t have a reputation that permits them to stand in judgment of anyone.

  • Anonymous

    There are many dictionaries with pictures, short stack. In fact, there are more dictionaries with pictures than there are brain cells in your head.

  • Anonymous

    I vividly recall LOD attacking and berating that veteran. He is a vile, despicable rat. That was when I first realized how truly bankrupt (philosophically, morally, intellectually) that little scumbag was. To call him a steaming pile of feces would be an insult to feces.

  • Anonymous

    Certainly they have to show who they are and be likable as a person as well as their positions on the issues. Someone you’d like to have a beer with I’ve heard. So the lighter  more casual stuff is fine by me. I think people over reacted because an official debate is seen as more serious and dealing with serious issues , and then a caricature like Trump is picked as moderator. If it had started out as a non serious more entertainment event I think people would have reacted differently. Trumps BS talk about running and the way in which he’s made a mockery of everything is a turn off for me. If you want to be PT Barnum that’s fine by me. Just be up front about the circus you’re promoting.
    I have no problem with Obama or anyone else appearing on late night.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_VFQSLJBGIKXCO4IDL4URXW2AQA Wilkby

    You are crazy if you think tRump didn’t want to take any opportunity given to talk about himself. He is a narcissist of the highest order, and he loves being the center of attention.

  • BooBoo Bear

    The only thing I blame Obama for is not forcing the GOP/TP to vote for his Jobs bill.
    Instead the TP even called on company’s not to hire people this year. Yes, I just love when a “party” decides that they would rather have America fail just because the President is of the other party.

  • Anonymous

    I’m sure MSNBC staff did call Trump and it was their job to ask him if he wanted to respond to the polls.  However, I question whether they called “40″ times as claimed by Trump. (Think he is a bit of a liar too?”
     Chuck Todd never did say that Trump called in – he simply introduced him and said he wanted to respond to the polling.  Given that the staff had been told to ask Trump if he wanted to respond, that is what Chuck Todd had been told they would talk about.

    Trump’s yelling at Chuck Todd just showed Trump’s immaturity.  Guys like that should never inherit big companies from their dad.

  • Anonymous

    That’s okay Chuck Todd.   Donald Trump has lied about not only his financial worth, but all those investigators he had in Hawaii combing through the vital records for a birth certificate.  i think we should show that picture of him at the Correspondents dinner again when Obama brought up the birth certificate.  And just imagine, Obama knew that Seal Team Six were going after Bin Laden all the time he was doing it.

  • Anonymous

    He did NOT imply that Trump asked to be on the show.  I’m sure no producers called him 40 times either.  Just an ego trip for Trump.

  • Anonymous

    I think Chuck Todd didn’t want to get down in the mud with Donald Trump.  But, he could have asked him about the Hawaii investigators and a lot of other claims Donald Trump has made.  And, as to him always talking about his bilions – he needs to be honest, he doesn’t have billions and he would have to disclose his true financial state in order to run for president.  Be reasonable.  why would a billionaire need a reality show on TV? 

  • Anonymous

    Not if you actually are clowns. Truth is always a defense.
    And who but a clown would try to pass that, and us995′s post, as a discussion of issues?

  • Anonymous

    Grab your ankles and get busy
    “You’re not very smart, are you”

    Really, slob?
    Let me know when you want to match IQs for a grand a point.

    What you stated was the worthless opinion of a fool, that would be you, who has yet to make a point with reason, logic, or facts.
    LOD worked as an aide in the Senate, and wrote for ”The West Wing”. Chuck Todd is the White House correspondent for NBC. And you, schmuck? So who’s the loser?
    And Trump made a bigger ass of himself, today, since this story ran, with his “hack” comments.

  • Anonymous

    them995
    “maybe I also earned a masters degree ”

    Maybe, so you say.
    And if so, how do you explain your simple grammatical error?
    And not only am I not the one drinking the kool-aid, that would be the teabaggers, but I don’t want anyone to follow me. I just come here to dump on wrong-wing slobs.
    It gives me pleasure, because you all have the soul of a bully, with the mind of a child.

  • Anonymous

    What is it with wrong–wingers and jealousy?
    Are you addicted to psychobabble, or are you just unable to say anything intelligent, nor able to remain silent?
    If you listened to LOD, you’d know exactly what he thinks of Trump, and why. Basically, he says, and proves, that Trump is a fraud and a liar, whose campaign for the presidency was never serious. There’s much more, like his birther lies, but if you’re interested, watch him. If not, don’t bother commenting. Or enjoy being proven wrong.

  • Anonymous

    “I so remember when LOD had to be physically removed from the set after calling a true VET a liar, tens times or more”

    When was this?
    Put up or stfu.

  • Anonymous

    When was this?

  • Anonymous

    Yet they disturb you and your fellow disturbees, even more than you were already disturbed.
    Because they tell the truth.
    Essentially, all of your collective bitching over the commentators on MSNBC is really a desire to practice censorship.
    Because if you don’t like them, don’t watch them, and so far, not one of you has come up with anything specific, except for that veteran/liar thing, the details of which are completely missing.
    Maybe he was a liar.

  • Anonymous

    Yeah, keep kissing his ass. Maybe he’ll tell you how to get rich.
    He’s a joke,
    Only 2 candidates have signed on.

  • Anonymous

    “I’m waiting to hear your thoughts on the dignity angle of Obama appearing on late night shows.”
    Tell that to every president since JFK, you moron.

  • Anonymous

    You’re a uber moron because at least they had successful policies that the majority of the public approved of and most if not all were democrats ie. Clinton, Obama that have to stoop to the lowest levels to reach the intellectually challenged types like you who get their political information from the likes of Jon Stewart, letterman etc. Everything this president is doing can be traced right back to this struggling economy such as union cronyism, over regulation, increased taxes, obamacare and more but the adle minded like you will vote for this empty suit again because he makes you warm and fuzzy.

  • Anonymous

    hoot

    Are you insane? I mean, you are insane.
    What a moronic post.
    So these presidents have to pass your test in order to be qualified to appear on a tv show? Like all of those repugnantan clowns now running for the nomination have?

    And we’re not the intellectually challenged ones here.
    Or, to put it another way, let me know when you want to match IQs for a grand a point.

    Moron.

  • http://www.facebook.com/grace.sette3 Grace Sette

    hi lawrence,
    i take exception to your constant negativity re:mitt romney. it isnt like you have not been reprimanded in the past with some of your comments. how much leverage do journalists have when interviewing individuals before they are called out about it.?? on a personal note, you need a wardrobe makeover, especially those skinny ties.

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