Podcaster Chuck Todd said Monday he plans to stop attending events featuring President Donald Trump because he no longer feels safe doing so.
Todd, a longtime Trump critic and former host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” argued that being near the president puts people at risk.
“I’m not going to any more events where Trump’s at them. I don’t feel safe wherever Donald Trump is, chaos follows him,” Todd said during a podcast with Chris Cillizza. “If you decide to go into his orbit, you have become less safe. He does not care about your safety. He’s not going to protect you if you go into his orbit, because he’s always going to protect himself first.”
“I’m not going to any more events where Trump is at them. I don’t feel safe.” —@chucktodd pic.twitter.com/LHi7T64mL0
— Chris Cillizza (@ChrisCillizza) April 27, 2026
His comments come after federal prosecutors charged Cole Tomas Allen with attempting to assassinate the president at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, marking the third attempt on Trump’s life in recent years.
On his podcast, Todd also accused Trump of contributing to a climate of hostility.
“The guy doesn’t care when people commit violence in his name. He only cares when the violence is committed against him, and he does not see that he is a contributor to the atmospherics of the world we’re living in,” Todd said.
Todd’s comments drew pushback from media figures and commentators.
Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Brent Scher said Todd’s comments reflected a “recognition from somebody on the Left of kind of what the vitriol against Donald Trump from the Left has created.”
.@BrentScher on Chuck Todd saying he will never attend an event where Trump is present again:
“[That] is a recognition from somebody on the Left of…what the vitriol against Donald Trump from the Left has created, a world where it’s not safe to be anywhere in his vicinity.” pic.twitter.com/h2FgQgDsfV
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) April 27, 2026
“Never, ever overestimate the media’s ability to make themselves into victims,” The Daily Wire’s Megan Basham posted on X.
CBS News legal correspondent Jan Crawford also criticized Todd’s remarks as “not only wrong but stupid.”
“I was literally talking about this with one of my daughters this morning. She pointed out how anyone can walk into a wedding or concert or mall and start shooting,” Crawford said. “We actually were in a safe space at WHCD. We were in a completely secure ballroom protected by layers of Secret Service. Most people don’t get that protection from mentally disturbed assailants.”
This is not only wrong but stupid. I was literally talking about this with one of my daughters this morning. She pointed out how anyone can walk into a wedding or concert or mall and start shooting. We actually were in a safe space at WHCD. We were in a completely secure ballroom… https://t.co/u2GzxHE1S7
— Jan Crawford (@JanCBS) April 27, 2026
