NBC News’ Chuck Todd claimed former President Trump has completely changed the Republican Party into a new version of itself that’s a “little segregationist.”
The network’s chief political analyst spoke with MSNBC anchor Katy Tur on Tuesday about Trump’s hold over the GOP just hours ahead of his primary showdown with Nikki Haley in New Hampshire.
Both Todd and Tur discussed how Haley is having a hard time breaking through to voters with her vision for the party as Trump has completely transformed it since he first ran for president in 2015.
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The NBC News analyst explained the influence Trump has, saying, “He hasn’t changed, but now whatever he says is conservative is now the definition of conservative.”
Todd went on to describe Trump remaking the party into one akin to the Democratic Party nearly a century ago. “He’s making today’s Republican Party what the Democratic Party was in the 30s and 40s: populist, working class.”
Tur interjected, “Isolationist,” with which Todd agreed while adding one more description. “A little isolationist, a little segregationist,” he said.
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He continued, “I am also mindful – political parties change. There was a time when Republicans were the party of McCarthy. They weeded that out. There was a time when Democrats were the party of segregationists. They weeded that out.”
Noting how parties “can evolve,” he mentioned that “the Cheneys and the Romneys – they’ve been shoved out of this version of the party.”
Todd added that Nikki Haley’s candidacy represents that non-Trumpian wing of the party that is “dissenting” by competing against the former president.
Haley is Trump’s lone remaining challenger for the 2024 nomination after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race on Sunday. DeSantis endorsed Trump as he left the race, giving the former president more momentum coming out of his lopsided victory last week in the Iowa caucuses.
