Chuck Todd Suggests Andrew Cuomo Can Make Political Comeback — Mere MINUTES After His Resignation

Chuck Todd reacted to news of Andrew Cuomo’s resignation by immediately assessing that the New York governor’s decision to step down is a matter of a political calculus that can still advance his long-term ambitions.

It was Tuesday around noon when Cuomo announced his resignation, which comes amid the ongoing firestorm over the sexual misconduct accusations leveled against him. In his press conference, Cuomo struck back at the explosive report from New York State Attorney General Letitia James while saying the claims of his harassment were “politically motivated,” “unfair” and “untruthful.”

Later in the hour, Todd joined Andrea Mitchell to give his reaction to Cuomo on MSNBC. He began by noting that Cuomo avoided the possibility of being barred from political office in New York forever because he isn’t being removed through impeachment.

“I think Cuomo believes he can go and live another day,” Todd said. He continued by reflecting on the “politically pragmatic” decisions Cuomo has made throughout his career, and “he sees reality quicker than maybe some folks thought he would.”

The segment continued with Todd and Mitchell breaking down the larger implications Cuomo’s resignation will have for Democrats. Todd’s determination was that Democrats were looking at a “long-term headache” if Cuomo tried to stay in office and power through his scandals.

As Mitchell outlined the extent of Cuomo’s fall from grace, she remarked that he “could have been a presidential candidate down the road, and who knows whether this will be rising from the phoenix later on, but this is really his only alternative, given how united the assembly was against him.”

This led to Todd’s assessment that this isn’t the end of the line for Cuomo, but rather, him accepting a temporary setback.

His career was either permanently over, or almost-permanently over, and he chose the path of almost-permanently over. We know the way our world works. It’s amazing, the people we’ve seen make political comebacks. You can’t ever rule it out…He did something that, maybe over time, will at least give him an opening to not be a full pariah in the party in three years, four years, five years.

Todd concluded by saying “I expect in my lifetime, Andrew Cuomo to run for office again. What that office is? I don’t know, but that’s what this resignation tells me today. He wants to live to fight another day.”

Watch above, via MSNBC.