NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd argued that former President Trump may be more viable now in 2024 than he has been in years, because he seems to be regaining the appeal and charisma he had in 2016.
MSNBC host Katy Tur argued Wednesday on MSNBC Reports that Trump has been on a "losing streak" in recent years, recalling how both the former president and the Republican Party have suffered a string of electoral defeats on the national stage since Trump won office in 2016.
"Why should we believe that this moment is different, that suddenly President Biden and the Democrats are so much weaker today than they were two years ago, than they were four years ago, than they were six years ago?" she asked.
"Well, because it’s the party in the White House," Todd replied. "I don’t mean to simplify this, but, you know, Donald Trump’s rhetoric, even, and even his sort of swagger looks more like 2016 and the campaign you covered so closely, Katy, than he looked in 2020."
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He went on to recall a pattern he discussed with another media personality who observed, "When Trump’s losing, the worst version of Trump shows up, and when Trump’s winning, or he thinks he’s ahead, he’s a different person, a different candidate."
Todd discussed Trump’s recent appearances in Detroit, noting he was "oddly loose. He was trying to be funny, and all of this."
He contrasted this to previous years, "where from about 2017 to 2022, and even 2023 through the primaries, it’s been nothing but angry grievance Trump, angry, angry, angry. It’s interesting, if he somehow drops the grievance, he could end up looking like the 2016 candidate where he’s the outside disrupter."
Tur expressed doubt that Trump could avoid speaking about his grievances amid his legal battles.
"But it's hard to imagine him dropping the grievance as he’s going to be sentenced in a few weeks here in Manhattan," she said. "The presidential immunity decisions are coming out with the Supreme Court. There are reasons to continue on the grievance trail. And this whole campaign, it seems to be less for him about policy, and more about ‘What they’re doing to me is what they want to do to you. My grievances are your grievances.’"
