“Meet the Press” hosts and moderators Chuck Todd announced Sunday that he will be stepping down this year after nine years as a public relations talk show host. He will be replaced by NBC News’ Co-Chief White House Correspondent Kristen Welker.
“It’s been almost a decade of incredible accomplishments,” Todd said on Sunday’s broadcast. “I’m really proud of what this team and I have built over the last decade. “I love this job so much, I helped explain America to Washington and Washington to America.”
He will remain with NBC in his new role as Chief Political Analyst and will serve as a key voice in both the field and coverage of major events. He also plans to focus on feature-length journalism.
“When I took over ‘Meet the Press,’ it was a Sunday show that many questioned whether it still had a place in the modern media space,” Todd added. “Well, I think I’ve answered that question and some of them.”
In a memo to staff, NBC News editorial director Rebecca Blumenstein and NBC News senior vice president of politics Carrie Budf-Brown praised “Chuck’s thoughtful and passionate leadership.”
“‘Meet the Press’ continues to maintain its historic role as an essential Sunday morning news program,” said Blumenstein and Budv Braun. “Through his incisive interviews with many of the most important press insiders, the show has played a key role in politics and policy, regularly making front page news and shaping the thinking of Washington and beyond. “
Welker joins hosts such as Tim Russert, who ran the show from 1991 until his death in 2008. She is the second woman to host “Meet the Press” after Martha Rowntree, the first host, and the first black journalist to host. “
“Meet the Press” is the longest-running show on American television, celebrating its 75th anniversary last year. The show has led rival shows in total viewership for more than eight years, and won its first Emmy Award during Todd’s tenure for a special report titled “Schools, America, and Race.”
Todd has covered some of the most influential political events of the last decade, including the final year of Barack Obama’s administration, the 2016 presidential campaign and election of Donald Trump, and the aftermath of the Capitol riots. took command of the program. January 6, 2021.
In one of the most memorable interviews of the early Trump era, Todd asked one of Trump’s top aides, Kellyanne Conway, why then-White House press secretary Sean Spicer made his first appearance in the briefing room. I asked him if he disputed the reports about the large number of spectators. Inauguration ceremony. Conway Spicer replied: Providing “Alternative Facts” The term quickly became synonymous with the Trump administration’s attitude towards facts and the news media.
Todd responded, “Look, the alternative facts are not facts. They’re false.”
Todd, the 12th host of “Meet the Press” and a five-time Emmy award-winning journalist, considered himself the show’s curator. “I don’t own this. I’m just sitting at home,” he said at a 75th anniversary celebration in Washington last year. “I want to leave it in a better shape for the next person. Everyone has done it.”
Welker regularly stands in for Todd on Meet the Press. In remarks on Sunday’s broadcast, Todd said he was ready to step down, partly because Welker “has been ready for it for a long time.”
“I had the privilege of working with her from day one and let me just say she was the right person at the right time,” he said.
Welker joined NBC News in 2010 and became a key figure in the White House briefing room. She has covered the last three presidential elections, traveled around the world with top political leaders, Moderated the final debate of 2020 Between President Trump and President Joe Biden. In 2020, she was named co-host of “Weekend Today.”
“She is an adept at moderating presidential debates in primary and general elections, and is a master at political interviews by asking lawmakers penetrating questions,” Blumenstein and Budv-Brown said in a memo to staff. rice field. “She’s a tenacious reporter who loves getting the big scoop, and her highly supportive personality is widely admired within the agency and across the network.”
Welker will take over the show as the 2024 presidential race heats up and the show prepares to enter the primary season. The Republican National Committee announced last week that the first Republican debate was scheduled for August 23.
Todd succeeded David Gregory on Meet the Press in September 2014, expanding the show’s broadcast and digital reach to include weekly podcasts, blogs and annual film festivals. In addition to his Sunday shows, he launched and hosted “MTP Daily,” the weekday version of the show that aired on MSNBC before it moved to streaming service NBC News Now last year.
He was previously the White House correspondent for NBC News and the host of the MSNBC series The Daily Rundown. Prior to joining NBC, Chuck was editor-in-chief of his political news and commentary website, He The Hotline, where he developed a reputation as a sharp election analyst with a quick wielding of data.
Disclosure: NBC News and CNBC are divisions of NBCUniversal owned by Comcast.
