Chuck Todd knocked Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) for going to bat for former President Donald Trump’s “absurd” turn from his past stance on using the debt ceiling “as a negotiating wedge.” (You can check out Todd’s comments in the clip below)
The “Meet the Press” host, in an interview with the Donalds on Sunday, asked the Republican whether he would be “comfortable” with a deal that both progressives and the Freedom Caucus won’t be keen on before flipping to a clip of Trump from 2019.
“I can’t imagine anybody ever even using the debt ceiling as a negotiating wedge,” the former president said at the time.
The comments came up during CNN’s recent town hall with Trump, where moderator Kaitlan Collins cited them before the former president asserted that the comments were made while he was president.
“Sure, that’s when I was president,” said Trump, who called for GOP lawmakers to cause a default if Democrats don’t give them “massive cuts.”
“So why’s it different now that you’re out of office?” Collins asked.
“Because now I’m not president,” responded Trump before the crowd laughed and applauded him.
Donalds brought up the moment from the town hall before Todd interrupted him.
“Do you realize how absurd that sounds?” Todd said.
“That is not absurd,” the congressman said.
“How is that not absurd? It’s absurd,” Todd replied.
Donalds, in response to Todd, noted that Trump is “always negotiating” before the host interjected.
“But you realize how partisan that sounds? What is good for me is not for thee. He’s basically saying ’When I’m president, there’s no negotiating on this but – hey – when somebody else is president, screw ‘em,’” Todd said.
The exchange between the two comes as President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are set to continue talks on the debt ceiling at the White House on Monday.
(H/T Mediaite)
