Chuck Todd ‘Frustrated’ By Obama’s Critique Of Media: It Should Be Directed At ‘Small Group’
On Monday, NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd expressed his vexation with President Barack Obama’s criticisms of the media during his address at the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday. Todd said that Obama’s scattershot critique of the superficiality of all news media should have been aimed at a “small group” of media outlets.
“I think heard the president express a little more frustration with what he thinks the media landscape is and maybe let on to what he doesn’t like about current the media landscape more so than we usually do,” Todd began.
“That’s new?” asked former White House Hispanic Media Director Luis Miranda. “This is a guy that believes in substance and he believes in actually digging down to the issues and working towards finding a solution, and that’s something that we don’t always find in Washington.”
“But it’s a collective criticism even if it’s a small group of media that’s doing this,” Todd interjected. “That’s always frustrated me when I hear him make these criticisms.”
Miranda said Obama becomes frustrated when the media focuses broadly on the politics of a given situation and not the specific policy proposals in question.
“I’m sure conservatives are going, ‘we don’t understand,” Todd added. “We think the press gives nothing but the president nothing but a free pass.’”
“He thinks he never gets a fair shake,” Todd said of Obama, “particularly when it comes to the issue of who’s right and who’s wrong in these budget showdowns.”
“The frustration every political person feels is the 12 hour 2 hour turnaround now,” said Republican consultant Kim Alfano. “We’re already over the gun control debate. Nobody’s talking about it because the bombing occurred.”
She said that issues used to be “drilled down more,” and when issues are explored in the media it is “usually to the disadvantage of Republicans.”
Watch the clip below via MSNBC:
