Chuck Todd: Obama Trying To Do Clinton a ‘Solid’ with Comments in Politico Interview

‘He knows ... there is pandemonium in his party if she loses both Iowa an New Hampshire’

LAUER: “I just want to play this sound bite one more time from the president, doing an interview with ‘Politico,’ and ask you about it on the other side. This is talking about Hillary Clinton. Listen.”
[clip starts]
OBAMA (voice-over): “She can start here day one, more experienced than any non-vice president has ever been who aspires to this office.”
[clip ends]
LAUER: “Chuck, if you are running the Clinton campaign, you’ve got to think that’s an endorsement, you’ve got to play that tape any time you can.”
TODD: “Well, that’s right. And how about the way she reacted to it last night? I mean, it was — she goes, ‘I’m touched. I’m so —‘ I think she was not just excited but relieved. And remember, Sanders is trying really hard to play the role of Obama here again, to create this sense of deja vu again. And I think Hillary Clinton — look, their strategy and it has been this way for three weeks, don’t just stand next to the president; hug him, do whatever it takes. And this is a case of the president trying to reciprocate.”
GUTHRIE: “[indecipherable] it’s the most engaged he’s been on this race, seems to hug Hillary Clinton right back after she did him the same favor. Are there no coincidences in politics?” [crosstalk]
TODD: “No —“
GUTHRIE: “Do you think this is something they worked out ahead of time?”
TODD: “I feel like that there is something where the president was trying to do — do her a solid in this case. Look, he has said he’s not going to endorse until the, quote, ‘primary season is over,’ but, you know, he knows in his party there’s pandemonium in his party if she loses both Iowa and New Hampshire. There’s calls to Joe Biden, there is the whole Michael Bloomberg thing. This is — you know, this is — if she can win Iowa, she can calm a lot of nerves. And I think the president knew that.”

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