Democratic presidential candidates attack each other, ignore Trump at raucous Nevada debate
Media pan 2020 Democrats for Nevada debate performances; reaction on 'The Five.'
MSNBC anchor Chuck Todd offered rare praise for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., suggesting that the progressive's status as the 2020 front-runner has "strengthened" following the Democratic Debate on Wednesday night.
Todd, who served as one of the moderators at the NBC/MSNBC-hosted debate, kicked off his show on Thursday summarizing what took place between the Democratic candidates and highlighted the "debate debut" of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has received less than stellar reviews from media critics.
"The biggest beneficiary of the big Bloomberg debate debut may have been Bernie Sanders because it echoes of the Republican primary four years ago that, at times, had a circular firing squad kind of feel to it with some of the biggest fireworks pinning the more moderate candidates against each other like Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar," Todd said, recalling the efforts to defeat President Trump ahead of the 2016 election.
He continued, "The question for Democrats is where do they go from here. Sanders' status as the front-runner remains, perhaps even strengthened as does the establishment's concern about his candidacy."
MSNBC'S CHUCK TODD CRITICIZED BY ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE OVER SANDERS' 'BROWNSHIRT BRIGADE' REMARK
Later in the show, Todd elaborated on the analogy that the current Democratic primary a "mirror image" to the Republican primary in 2016 where the focus at the debate "wasn't on the front-runner" among the other competitors.
Todd's tune was drastically different earlier this month when he questioned why Sanders was being "considered" a front-runner.
“I don’t understand how Bernie is considered a frontrunner. This is a guy that has -- more people showed up to the polls, highest turnout ever, and his percentage went down, not up. His total went down, not up," Todd told the panel following the New Hampshire primary.
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The "Meet the Press" moderator also received heavy backlash for suggesting that Sanders' supporters were part of a "digital brownshirt brigade," a statement which was condemned by the Anti-Defamation League.