Former NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd credited President Donald Trump with being an unprecedented historical figure in his lifetime on a Thursday podcast, particularly highlighting his cultural impact.
Trump announced his candidacy for the 2016 presidential race roughly ten years ago, on June 16, 2015, at Trump Tower. Todd, on “The Chuck ToddCast,” reflected on the anniversary, saying Trump has reshaped the Republican Party, the presidency and American “culture,” making him a remarkably influential president in the modern era. (RELATED: ‘They Came With Their A Game’: Donald Trump, Scott Bessent Reveal Which Country Could Be Close To Making Trade Deal)
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“It’s been a transformational ten years for the Republican Party, for American politics, for Washington, D.C., for the global world order,” Todd said. “It’s not been small … it’s been ten years since Donald Trump descended down those escalator, and ten years since a reality TV host, a real estate promoter, entered the political bloodstream. And whatever you want to call the moment — performance art, populist revolt, ego trip — it has turned into something far more enduring.”
“One fluky win in the Electoral College could have been chalked up as an accident of history,” he continued. “And in fact, if he had only won in ’16 and never come back, that is how he would have been seen — an accident of history. More like Jimmy Carter or somebody like that.”
Trump won the 2016 election as an outsider businessman who had never served in public office or the military, beating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, stunning the political and media establishment.
“But what’s followed — the staying power of Trump the man, the movement and now the comeback — it’s not an accident,” Todd added. “Looks like we’re in the middle of a realignment. We’re not talking about a blip. We’re talking about a decade, which means we’re probably going to be talking about a generation.”
After former President Joe Biden secured the White House in 2020, Trump ran and retook it in 2024, despite facing two assassination attempts and four criminal cases during the campaign.
“You might say he’ll just be a chapter in the history books. But I’d argue he’ll be a long chapter. He’s already going to be a longer chapter than Grover Cleveland, the last guy to serve non-consecutive terms as president,” Todd said. “He’ll be longer than most modern presidents because Trump didn’t just change his party — he changed the job. He changed the expectations. And he’s changed the culture. And that’s probably the biggest impact he’s made.”
“In fact, Donald Trump’s impact on American politics and society is unlike anything I’ve seen in my lifetime. It’s greater than [Barack] Obama — something I would not have conceded three years ago. It’s greater than [Bill] Clinton,” he added. “It’s greater even than [Ronald] Reagan. You probably have to go back to FDR [Franklin Delano Roosevelt] to find an American president who so thoroughly did a couple of things: he redefined the boundaries of the presidency and the shape of the national psyche. We haven’t had another president do that since then.”
Political analyst Mark Halperin argued on Jan. 23 on “On Balance with Leland Vittert” that Trump was already implementing “fundamental” government reforms in his rapid-fire first days back in office. Trump signed over 200 executive actions within 12 hours after being sworn in, tackling issues ranging from the border crisis to the economy.
“Trump’s prone to hyperbole, but when he says he’s done more in three and a half days than some people do in four years there’s, maybe, if these things hold, there may be some truth to that,” Halperin said. “Because he’s making Reagan look like a member of the deep state. He is changing things in a fundamental way and he’s benefited from four years off to think about it.”
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