MSNBC’S Chuck Todd observed Tuesday that the White House was "caught off guard" by the disastrous public roll out of their prisoner exchange for Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl.
Todd and Andrea Mitchell agreed that the White House had likely thought there would be "some euphoria around this, the only POW that was remaining in Afghanistan, that there would be a rally around the flag. That didn't happen."
"They were expecting criticisms of Gitmo, criticisms of the detainees that were chosen," Todd said. "They did not expect this criticism of the attempt to go get Bergdahl in the way that it was done."
Todd noted the White House’s change of tone over the last several days, using as an example a Pentagon spokesperson who defended Bergdahl’s rescue in the New York Times today by citing the Navy’s policy of rescuing sailors who go overboard, regardless of whether they fell out of the ship or jumped themselves. "That wasn’t necessarily what they were saying on Sunday."