Chuck Todd recently criticized Bret Baier on “The Bulwark” podcast, suggesting that the Fox News anchor is emulating Sean Hannity and is only concerned about socializing with the president. Todd ended his remarks by sarcastically saying, “I hope he enjoys it.”
During the podcast, Todd implied that he has given up relying on cable news for information, despite his own reputation as a left-leaning commentator.
Without explicitly naming him, Todd alluded to a male Fox News personality who he claimed was deviating from his previous journalistic integrity to adopt a more partisan approach similar to Sean Hannity.
“Instead, he now just wants to have tee time with the president,” Todd concluded. “I hope he enjoys it.”
The sheer lack of self-awareness in Todd’s criticism is a sight to behold. This is a man who spent years running cover for Joe Biden, including the then-president’s severe cognitive and physical decline. It wasn’t until after the former president’s disastrous debate performance that it became safe for the former NBC News personality to tell the truth. That he finally spoke out about what the rest of us had been reporting on for years wasn’t brave. It was convenient. Todd, like his left-wing colleagues, wanted Biden to step aside to try to stop Trump from winning. He hadn’t finally discovered journalist ethics.
I’m repeating myself, though, as I’ve made that point several times recently. When Baier was asked about Todd’s sleight on Thursday, he delivered a characteristically polite yet savage response.
.@BretBaier responds to comments from @chucktodd: “I don’t know what promoted Chuck to do that. I have an interview to do with the U.K. Prime Minister today. So, I don’t know what he’s doing.” pic.twitter.com/t4gCYSF1T3
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 27, 2025
HOST: And you take a fair amount of heat for this. Chuck Todd, a, I don’t know, ex-friend of yours said, “I thought he actually cared about being a journalist first and wanting to walk that line, and now he just wants to have tee time with the president.”
BAIER: Yeah, that’s interesting. I don’t know what prompted Chuck to do that. I have an interview to do with the UK prime minister today. I don’t know what he’s doing.
(Laughter)
Sometimes, you can cut someone down to size without even raising your voice. Chuck Todd is currently unemployed (at least in holding a serious journalist position) and is spending his time crying on “The Bulwark” podcast while Bret Baier is interviewing world leaders. Who’s walking the line of “being a journalist” again, and who’s just mouthing off for some anti-Trump website’s enjoyment?
Baier continued…
BAIER: I think, I think my focus is, you know, what I said, covering the news. If I have off-the-record conversations in moments with President Trump, I think any journalist would want to get in his mind of what’s next. Things are going a million miles an hour, just to give some perspective off-the-record. So I don’t think that’s true. As I’ve said, we’ve covered a lot of things that we were first on. You know, the cognitive questions about President Biden. We were told we were running cheap fake videos.
Well, Fox News wasn’t the only outlet accused of running with “cheap fakes.” Many of us were via nonsensical “fact-checks” from outlets like NBC News. It’s worth noting, though, that Baier isn’t just talking about Todd, who did dismiss those questioning Biden’s health, but also CNN’s Jake Tapper. He went from claiming conservative commentators were attacking the former president’s “stutter” to trying to cash in by writing a book about Biden’s decline and terrible decision to run again. The lack of shame never ceases to amaze.
At the end of the day, and I have my own issues with Fox News at times, Baier is a professional. He doesn’t wear any bias on his sleeve, and he’s been maligned by some on the right for not doing so. This idea that he’s a hack doing Trump’s bidding is just false, and it’s the claim of a petty, diminished man in Todd.
