Chuck Todd deserves a pat on the back for keeping his cool this morning in the face of an astonishingly boorish comment from — yep, that’s right — Donald J. Trump.

The “Meet the Press” moderator was interviewing Trump early today. The exchange took my breath away.

Todd asked Trump about the guy in Ohio who rushed the stage where Trump was speaking; Secret Service agents intervened to keep the guy away from Trump.

Trump then said something about “hearing on the Internet” that the fellow as a follower of the Islamic State. Todd said the reports were false. Not so, said Trump, repeating that he “heard it on the Internet.” That — right there — told me plenty of Trump’s (lack of) judgment, that he would take anything he “heard on the Internet” as gospel.

But I digress …

Trump then said the guy was dragging an American flag on the ground, which he said proved he was an ISIS follower. Todd said once again the report was proven to be false.

Then Trump said he “loves the flag more than you apparently do,” implying that Todd, well, doesn’t love the flag and what it stands for.

So. There you have it.

A major presidential candidate buying into Internet gossip as truth and then implying that a veteran broadcast journalist doesn’t love Old Glory simply because he sought to dispel the bogus report about an ISIS connection.

I salute Chuck Todd for maintaining his professionalism in the face of what I considered to be a serious affront.

Here’s the interview in its entirety.