MSNBC host Chuck Todd called the Thursday press conference with Rudy Giuliani alleging voter fraud tantamount to a "Saturday Night Live" skit. But according to NBC News reporter Carol Lee, there are White House aides and allies to President Donald Trump that are embarrassed by the turn the 2020 election crusade has taken.
Todd asked if Trump is simply trying to go out in a blaze of glory, which Lee said, seems to be Giuliani's plan.
"I was talking to a Republican during this, and I asked, 'Who believes what the president's lawyer is currently saying on TV? He said you're looking at it. Those are the officials around the president who think this is viable, that this is an actual strategy, that it's something that may get the president somewhere," said Lee. "But it's not. And as you noted, Chuck, this has gone from trying to win at the ballot box to trying to win this legal strategy to now just trying to create general sort of chaos and an undermining of the confidence that the American people can have in the vote which is that Joe Biden is the next president."
She went on to say that the problem that people around Trump are starting to see is that they're going week-by-week in dealing with his denial. One week they think that they can move him to admit that it's over. Now it's more fights with Giuliani.
"But all of that just -- he keeps blowing through all of those barriers," Lee continued. "What you're seeing from Rudy Giuliani and The Washington Post has great reporting on this is that they're just going to keep going. And the question is to what end? Will there ever be a transition? is the president going to ever come out and say this is over? We know he's been trying to get to this, quote, conclusion or at least people are trying to get him to one, but this strategy is -- it's just taken a turn in the last 24, 36 hours."
Todd asked Lee if there are people in the White House staff self-aware enough to know that Trump is causing problems for Republicans in the Georgia runoffs.
"Look, Chuck. frankly, the more you talk to people inside the White House, there's just a real sense of embarrassment by this that there are people who don't --"
"Embarrassment?" Todd cut in. "I've gotten that sense, too."
"They think -- they are disgusted by it. They think this is a terrible way to go out," said Lee. "And you have to underscore these are people who believe in this president, who believed in his policies who think he has a good legacy to talk about and see him trashing it by going down this road and leaving Rudy Giuliani out there to hold press conferences like this. They think that this is not the way that he should be going out."
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