President Donald Trump lashed out at NBC News’ Chuck Todd Saturday evening during a campaign-style rally in western Pennsylvania.
Trump was in the midst of criticizing past administrations for their failure to denuclearize North Korea while complimenting his intention to meet with that country’s leader, Kim Jong Un. He referred to a 1999 appearance he made on “Meet the Press,” which he told the crowd is now hosted by “sleepy eyes Chuck Todd.”
“He’s a sleeping son of a bitch, I’ll tell you,” Trump added.
The president has attacked the NBC host as a purveyor of “fake news” and with the same “sleepy eyes” insult multiple times in the past. “Late Night” host Seth Meyers last year came to Todd’s defense, accusing Trump of looking like he “drank a bottle of NyQuil in the sauna.”
Todd light-heartedly referenced the president’s insult in a Saturday night tweet, encouraging viewers to tune into the program.
Sunday morning, he put Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on the spot about Trump’s comments.
“Many people, including myself, raise their kids to respect the office of the presidency and the president of the United States,” Todd told his guest. “When he uses vulgarity to talk about individuals, what are they supposed to tell their kids?”
Todd was not only referring to himself ― the president also went after Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif), attacking the prominent lawmaker as a “low-IQ individual.”
Mnuchin dismissed Trump’s personal attacks, instead telling Todd that the press should focus on covering the administration’s policies.
Todd signed off Sunday’s program telling viewers he’d be back next week, “sleepy eyes and all.”