On Monday, the third hour of the Today show brought on a pair of left-wing MSNBC political analysts to react to the growing racial scandal embroiling Virginia Democratic Governor Ralph Northam. While both of them appropriately condemned an offensive blackface picture featured on Northam’s 1984 college yearbook page, they also argued that President Trump was somehow to blame for the controversy.

Talking to Princeton University Professor Eddie Glaude, a regular pundit for MSNBC, co-host Craig Melvin wondered: “This is the third such incident that’s surfaced over the past, I think, three or four weeks....when did blackface become a thing again? Why does it seem as if blackface is all of a sudden front and center in America again? What’s happening?”

Glaude replied: “I think it has something to do with what Donald Trump has unleashed. It has something to do with the reservoir that’s underneath our politics that can always be activated at any moment....it’s always underneath. It’s the undertow.”

The incidents that Melvin cited included Northam’s scandal, from three decades ago, and the newly-elected Florida Secretary of State stepping down over revelations that he wore blackface as part of a costume over a decade ago. It’s not clear how Donald Trump could possibly have been responsible for either offensive display.

Rather than challenge Glaude’s partisan assertion, fellow co-host Dylan Dreyer instead turned to MSNBC political analyst Zerlina Maxwell, a former member of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, and asked: “So it has seemed to resurface a lot lately, but for kids....now we have to have this conversation with them....What is the best way to talk to children to get them through this time that was from so long ago?”

In part, Maxwell doubled down on the Glaude’s claims:

Well, certainly young children of color experience incidents of racism in their own life....you know, young children of color are dealing with kids saying “Build the wall,” and so I agree with Professor Glaude, Donald Trump has normalized this overt display of racism. Where it used to be impolite...

After the guests desperately tried to paint the Democrat’s scandal as Trump’s fault, co-host Al Roker mentioned the possibility of “forgiveness” for Northam: “So here’s a question, where do we draw the line? Can somebody find forgiveness but can he only, in the case of the Governor, only find forgiveness or a second chance after stepping down?”

Glaude declared: “I think he had an opportunity to say, ‘I made a mistake 30 years ago. I didn’t reveal it. We need to have a conversation about race. I want to tell you how I have moved, I’ve grown from this period – ’ Roker interjected: “And if he’d done that on Saturday, could he still stay in office?” Glaude replied: “No, I don’t think so.”

“Forgiveness” was certainly not on Roker’s mind when former 9:00 a.m. ET hour Today show host Megyn Kelly was caught up controversy over comments she made about blackface on the program back in October. At that time, both him and Melvin rejected her attempts to apologize for her remarks.

Rather than simply hold a Democrat accountable for racially offensive actions, NBC’s inclination was to find a way to spread the blame around and ultimately try to pin the scandal on a Republican president.

Here are excerpts of the February 4 panel discussion: