NBC host Chuck Todd said on Sunday that President Joe Biden “really needs” former President Donald Trump to be the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in 2024.
Todd made the remarks in response to Biden’s presidential announcement video last week that focused on the former president at the start of video.
“But you know, around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take on those bedrock freedoms, cutting social security that you’ve paid for your entire life, while cutting taxes from the very wealthy, dictating what healthcare decisions women can make, banning books and telling people who they can love all while making it more difficult for you to be able to vote,” Biden said.
Todd addressed Biden’s remarks during a panel discussion, saying, “When we saw the announcement video from Joe Biden, it was not about what he did.”
“It felt like it is about who he’s running against again,” Todd said. “And it felt very much almost like – and they even referenced the first video.”
“He really needs Donald Trump to be the nominee and Donald Trump responded on this Thursday by sort of focusing on him,” Todd added, suggesting that the two were in a “codependent relationship.”
NBC News released a poll last week that found that the majority of Americans do not want Biden or Trump to run for president again.
The poll found that 70% of Americans, including 51% of Democrats, do not want Biden to run again.
The same poll found that 60% of Americans, including a third of Republicans, say that Trump should not run again.