Chuck Todd: Trump 'revenge Cabinet' doesn't 'make a lot of sense'

Chuck Todd, former moderator of "Meet The Press,” said President-elect Trump’s recent nominations were motivated by his desire to have a “revenge Cabinet” that will bolster polarizing reforms in a Wednesday analysis for NBC News. 

“What will ultimately matter is whether these folks can govern like reformers or end up simply as conduits for Trump’s revenge,” Todd wrote. 

“And it’s hard not to see all of this as more revenge than reform — from the creation of a list of generals to fire to the threat of purging the non-political federal workforce — it’s hard not to see this as anything other than a revenge Cabinet,” he added.  "And politically, it just doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

Todd, now the chief political analyst for NBC, warned that Trump’s controversial appointments, including former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, former Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) could burn bridges on Capitol Hill.

“If he picks all these early fights with, essentially, the biggest and most important parts of government, how fast will the turmoil created go from ‘change can be painful, let’s be patient,’ to simply ‘instability is painful, and we need to some balance to calm the waters?’” Todd asked.

“Don’t believe me — just rewind the tape to Trump's last term,” he wrote.

In the report, Todd questioned if the former president’s motives stemmed from anger at the “deep state,” past government hang ups or fear of being overthrown.

“Either Trump is right and government was weaponized to stop him, or the government has been right, Trump is a unique threat, and he's trying to weaken the parts of government that could have the most credibility against him, namely the military and federal law enforcement,” he stated. 

However, Todd noted the forceful moves would ensure accomplishments and failures fall on Trump’s shoulders as he’s surrounded himself with “ folks he says share his vision.”

“This time, he has to deliver, and his ability to deliver depends on whether he can put together a stable set of political actors to not only do his bidding but also somehow deliver on his promises to a whole new group of voters who are "trying out" Trumpism for the very first time,” Todd wrote.