Chuck Todd says Americans are not ‘United in Grief’ but ‘Divided by Politics,’ Blames Trump Campaign and Pence

This morning on his weekly show, Meet the Press, Chuck Todd criticized the political divide in America, despite a time of ‘crisis.’ He only listed examples of Vice President Pence and the Trump Campaign doing things that he apparently disapproved of and then shared a clip from George W. Bush’s statement and praised healthcare workers.

WATCH: In past crises — 9/11, Oklahoma City, even the Challenger accident — Americans united in grief. #MTP#IfItsSunday Today, much of America is divided by politics.

WATCH: In past crises — 9/11, Oklahoma City, even the Challenger accident — Americans united in grief. #MTP #IfItsSunday

Today, much of America is divided by politics. pic.twitter.com/SeY4GBQXDR

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) May 3, 2020

It was on January 6th that the CDC first issued a travel notice for Wuhan, China. Consider what has happened in less than 4 months time, more than 1.1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the US and more than 66,000 Americans have died.

The American economy shrunk by nearly 5% in the first quarter with the worst yet to come. And some 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits just the last 6 weeks. Those are the sobering numbers.

But this has not been like other crisis, think 9/11, Oklahoma City, even the Challenger accident. Instead of being united in grief, much of America is divided by politics.

We see it in the anti-social distancing protests in states extending stay at home guidelines. We see it in a Gallup Poll that finds 44% of Republicans would be willing to return to normal activities right now if there were no restrictions at all. While only 4% of Democrats say the exact same thing.

We see it in Vice President Pence not wearing a face mask at the Mayo Clinic, where it’s the rule. We can even see it in the Wall Street Journal report that the Trump campaign has ordered red Trump-branded face masks for supporters.

It all prompted this statement yesterday from former President George W. Bush. In the final analysis, we are not partisan combatants, we are human beings, equally vulnerable and equally wonderful in the sight of God.

Of course there has been countless acts of kindness, generosity, and heroism, especially from our healthcare workers, but much of that good news is obscured by the intensifying and often partisan debate over when and how to reopen this country.