Chuck Todd, Antifa, and the Art of Selective Amnesia
- Political theater often masks political convenience.
- Officials and pundits pick narratives that suit their allies.
- Evidence shows Antifa activity is real and has been documented.
- Calling out inconsistent media claims matters in a free press.
Former NBC News personality Chuck Todd is losing it over President Trump deciding to designate Antifa as a terrorist organization, according to reports from The Gateway Pundit.
On a podcast with former CNN staffer Chris Cillizza, Todd warned that the move is dangerous and suggested a vague designation could be abused, a talking point Cillizza echoed without surprise.
What’s striking is Todd’s claim that he doesn’t know what Antifa is and that “there is no group,” a line that lands as convenient forgetfulness given his past coverage and interviews on the subject.
First the clip. Partial transcript by
“I don’t even know what Antifa is. I know what the definition of Antifa is. There is no group!”
“But what’s dangerous is that by designating it, who’s going to define who the group is?”
“And if the Trump administration decides to say, ‘You, George Soros, are a part of this group that I designated,’ and you’re like, ‘No, I’m not,’ and it doesn’t matter.”
Watch below:
Laughable is the polite word for Todd’s act. He once interviewed the author of “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook” while still hosting Meet the Press, so pretending total ignorance now looks like gaslighting the audience.
Media figures can’t have it both ways: you can’t spotlight a movement for years and then claim it never existed when a president wants to hold it accountable.
From NBC News in 2017:
Antifa Violence Is Ethical? This Author Explains Why
After decades of relative obscurity, the fringe “antifa” movement is becoming a household name after followers clashed with white supremacists at the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally where extremist Alex Fields is accused of murdering 32-year-old activist Heather Heyer in a car attack.
But the movement is still loosely defined and organized, making it difficult to get a grip on its size and aims.
Professor Mark Bray, a historian and lecturer at Dartmouth, has tried to fill the gap in his new book, “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook,” that chronicles its rise. While Bray doesn’t participate in the group’s protests, he nonetheless considers himself an ally…
Bray talked to NBC News about the antifa movement — and the role violence plays within it — on Thursday.
Here is the video of Chuck Todd interviewing a supposed expert on Antifa:
So when Todd plays dumb now, call it what it is: a performance designed to protect a narrative, not inform the public. Voters deserve honesty, not selective memories dressed up as caution.
Leave a Comment