Chuck Todd criticized Hillary Clinton’s “apology” relating to the email controversy saying she only did it because “a bunch of donors and a bunch of nervous Democratic activists” wanted to hear it from her.
Willie Geist, appearing on “Morning Joe” along with Todd, argued the email controversy “is not an issue that will go away with a single apology.”
Joe Scarborough: All the candidates come through here, I will say, over the past eight years. I’ve never seen a candidate have as much trouble getting to the truth, John Heilemann, as Hillary Clinton has on this email situation. And, it is costing her at least right now in September, in the polls, another poll out yesterday among Democrats, her approval drops 10 points from 52% in august to 42% now.
John Heilemann: People have a perception she’s not being straightforward and not being fully disclosive about everything that happened, why she did what she did. The core question remains, why. And she still hasn’t answered that question. And to me, we discussed her tone on this apology at some length this morning and how forced it felt. But it all seems to me secondary to getting to the answers to the core questions people still have. Which is why did you do what you did. Why a private server in your home? Why?
Willie Geist: And Chuck, it did have a feeling of you want me to apologize? Fine, I’ll apologize. You happy now, let’s move on. But unfortunately for her, there’s still many, many more questions that have to be answered. There are emails that will come out once a month for the foreseeable future. This is not an issue that will go away with a single apology.
Chuck Todd: No, and it did feel like this is the correct answer that this is the, I think, Walter was putting it that this is what she is saying what a bunch of donors and a bunch of nervous Democratic activists want to hear from her. The email was the same way. But she is in a negative feedback loop right now. Which is even as she tries to move on, there’ll be a series of emails that come out, that’s a week worth of distilling the emails. Then, of course, she’s got the October testimony. I mean, it’s not going to be until January that there is no more new email information. And, you know, that’s a feed back loop she’s got to figure how to get out of.