Appearing on NBC’s Today show on Thursday to react to Wednesday night’s impeachment vote, Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd lamented “the end of a decade that has been just hyperpartisan, hypertoxic” and warned that “at times it feels as if culturally we’re in a cold civil war.”

While introducing Todd, co-host Craig Melvin noted: “Wherever you are on the political spectrum, Chuck Todd, it’s a sad morning in America.” He then wondered: “How much does this really matter in the grand scheme of things?” Todd mourned:

In some ways, you know, this is the end of a decade that has been just hyperpartisan, hypertoxic, the toxic politics, the mix of social media. So you could make an argument that it was almost inevitable that our politics were going to end with this kind of showdown over impeachment. So in that sense, it sadly feels like almost a predictable next step in this escalation of a partisan war that now feels like it’s obviously gotten too overheated, to the point where at times it feels as if culturally we’re in a cold civil war.

That echoed Todd’s Wednesday morning commentary in which he claimed that impeachment capped off the “worst decade in American politics” that he argued began with the rise of the Tea Party movement in 2010. Todd also went on a tirade during that special coverage arguing that the President “doesn’t seem to understand the story of America.”

On Thursday, after Melvin pointed out that the American people were “evenly split” on impeachment, something which was “only going to deepen the divide,” Todd tried to spin the partisan process as politically damaging to President Trump in 2020: “...while the President has gotten to a point where he is able to survive this process, it has not helped his reelection chances. And if anything, if you look at our poll, it’s clear there are people who are not in favor of impeachment who also are not satisfied with the job the President is doing.”

In reality, several polls that have come out in recent days have shown Trump’s political prospects improving. On Monday, a USA Today/Suffolk University poll found the President defeating all of his potential 2020 Democratic rivals in one-on-one match-ups. On Wednesday, a Gallup survey showed Trump’s approval rating rising to 51% while support for impeachment declined.

During live coverage of Wednesday night’s impeachment vote, Todd bitterly complained that Americans were evenly divided on the topic.

Later in Thursday’s discussion, Todd lectured Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: “This is not going to be easy for him to navigate because he just can’t shove a sham trial through, there are six to eight Republican senators up for reelection who have to win the votes of people who want this president impeached.”

Spoken like a true Democratic strategist.

Here is a transcript of the December 19 segment: