Chuck Todd jumps the shark

On some level “cable news” is entertainment as much as it’s news, and viewers just have to accept that if they’re going to watch. But while most MSNBC hosts understand they have a solemn responsibility to accurately frame the political news of the day while they’re entertaining us, Chuck Todd has a different mindset – and he keeps royally pissing off MSNBC’s viewers.

Chuck Todd stepped in it again on Wednesday when he insisted that Donald Trump had “turned the corner” when it came to wearing a mask. Turned the corner? Come on. Trump spent months refusing to wear a mask, while making fun of people who wore masks. A whole lot of Americans needlessly died as a result. It was negligent at best, homicidal at worst. Yet Chuck Todd framed it as if Trump were a shortstop coming out of a batting slump.

That’s the whole problem, really. Chuck Todd thinks politics is all just one big fun game, and that he’s a game announcer. He doesn’t understand, or doesn’t care, that he has a responsibility to call things like they are, rather than trying to frame every political development like it’s some amusing trick play in a sporting event.

There’s a reason Chuck Todd’s name has been trending on Twitter for the past six hours – and it’s not a positive one. His ratings are so weak. He’s not making the network any money. And he keeps alienating MSNBC’s audience in the most ridiculous of ways. No one can seem to figure out why this guy is still on the air.