NEW YORK (AP) — Chuck Todd said Sunday he is leaving “Meet the Press” after a tumultuous decade of nearly moderating NBC’s political panel showwho will be replaced in the coming months by Kristen Welker.
Todd, 51, told viewers he had “seen too many friends and family let their work consume them before it was too late” and had promised his family he wouldn’t.
Todd has often been an online punching bag for critics, including Donald Trump, during a polarizing time, and there were rumors that his time on the show would be cut short when its executive producer was reassigned at the end of the summer past, but NBC gave nothing. indication that this was something other than Todd’s decision. It’s unclear when Todd’s last show will be, but he told viewers this would be his last summer.
“I felt concerned about this moment in history, but calm about the standards we’ve set here,” Todd said. “We did not tolerate propagandists, and this network and show never will.”
Welker, a former chief White House correspondent, has been with NBC News in Washington since 2011 and has been Todd’s deputy chief for the past three years. She drew praise moderating the final presidential debate between Trump, Republican, and Joe Biden, Democrat, in 2020.
His “sharp questioning of lawmakers is a master class in political interviewing,” NBC News editorial president Rebecca Blumenstein said in a note announcing Welker’s elevation Sunday.
Now Welker, 46, will be thrust into what promises to be another contentious election cycle.
The Sunday morning political talk show has been on the air since 1947, hosted by inventor and first anchor Martha Rountree. Its peak came in the years that Tim Russert moderated, from 1991 until his death in 2008, with his less sure footing since then. Tom Brokaw filled in briefly after Russert’s death, and David Gregory filled in until he was forced out in favor of Todd.
The story continues
Welker will be the first black moderator of “Meet the Press” and the first woman since Rountree left in 1953.
Todd said he was proud to expand the “Meet the Press” brand into a daily show, which originally aired on MSNBC but has moved to broadcast, along with podcasts and newsletters, even a festival of movie theater.
It didn’t stop critics from jumping on social media when they didn’t like an interview Todd did. Trump even anointed Todd with one of his nicknames, Sleepy Eyes, and called on NBC to fire Todd in 2020 for airing an interview clip with his then-Attorney General William Barr that the show later admitted had been cut to leave an imprecise impression.
Todd was grilled at the 2022 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner by Trevor Noah, who pointed to him in the audience and said, “How are you doing? I’d follow up, but I know you don’t know what these are”.
Todd alluded to his critics when announcing his departure on Sunday.
“If you’re doing this job looking for popularity, you’re doing this job the wrong way,” he said. “I take attacks from supporters as compliments. And I take genuine compliments with a grain of salt when they come from supporters.”
In the just-concluded television season, “Meet the Press” was third in viewers behind CBS’ “Face the Nation” and ABC’s “This Week,” each averaging between 2.5 million and 2.9 million viewers, ratings company Nielsen said.
