Kristen Welker is the new moderator of 'Meet the Press' – and the 1st Black journalist behind the desk. What you need to know.
"I'm taking the baton from Chuck at a pivotal moment in our political discourse. So it's a huge responsibility," Welker says.
Meet the Press, meet the new moderator: Kristen Welker.
Welker, 47, who has been NBC's chief White House correspondent since 2011, is taking over the desk from Chuck Todd this weekend.
The Sunday morning political show has been on the air since 1947, making it the longest running program on TV. In its seven-decade long history, Welker becomes its 13th moderator and the first Black journalist to take the helm, as well as the second woman in the chair. The first was Martha Rountree, the original moderator from 1947 to 1953, according to the Poynter Institute.
Her predecessor, Chuck Todd, hosted the show for nine years. On his final episode as moderator and her last as a guest on Sunday, he said it was "a privilege" to pass the baton to Welker.
And Welker is ready for it, telling USA Today, "I'm taking the baton from Chuck at a pivotal moment in our political discourse. So it's a huge responsibility."
Welker's beginnings at NBC
What's particularly unique about Welker's journey is that she started her career at NBC. She worked as an an intern for Today while in college, and then later as a researcher on Weekend Today.
She joined NBC News in 2010 as a network correspondent based in Burbank, Calif. She's been covering White House since Dec. 2011, which includes the Obama administration, the Trump administration and the 2020 presidential race. She leads coverage of the Biden administration for the network, her NBC bio reads.
A pivotal moment for her in October 2020 was moderating the final presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden. She also followed Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Welker is based in Washington, D.C., where she lives with her husband and her two-year-old daughter.
Stepping into the role as moderator
Welker is "a reporter at heart," telling Glamour, "I spent 10 years in local news: Redding, California, and Providence, Rhode Island, and Philadelphia before I got to the network. So I am approaching this job [at Meet the Press] as moderator as a reporter; I want to make sure that we are bringing new and relevant information to our viewers every Sunday."
On Meet the Press, she told Chuck Todd, "Now my beat, by the way, is all of Washington, the campaign trail and frankly, the world, and I want to be asking those tough questions."
Welker is the first person of color to host a Sunday morning public affairs show, calling the opportunity "the honor of a lifetime" as a political junkie.
“It is incredibly humbling," she told USA Today. "And I think that if you asked my mother, she would tell you that the fact that I am the first person of color taking over the moderator's chair is significant for me. I am going to be focused on continuing the great legacy and mission of Meet the Press, which is to make sure that we are holding our elected officials to account, holding their feet to the fire, making sure that I'm asking tough questions."
She represents a growing number of women leading political shows
Women have become the faces of Sunday public affairs programs and Welker joins Fox News's Shannon Bream, ABC News's Martha Raddatz, CBS News's Margaret Brennan and CNN's Dana Bash.
"I’m honored to be among such an incredible company of women in the Sunday moderator chair," she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Congrats on one year in the chair, @ShannonBream! Can’t wait to join the ranks with you, @MarthaRaddatz, @margbrennan and @DanaBashCNN this week. I’m honored to be among such an incredible company of women in the Sunday moderator chair.https://t.co/KzzePboSk0
— Kristen Welker (@kwelkernbc) September 11, 2023
With more women moderating, Welker told Glamour "we are going to be asking all of the questions that have always been asked on these Sunday shows, but also the questions that get talked about around the dinner table, the questions that are important to people of all stripes who live in this country. That's part of what happens when you bring diversity to newsrooms, and so I'm excited and honored to be a part of it."
Her first interview
Welker's first guest is former President Donald Trump. His appearance on Meet the Press this Sunday is his first broadcast network interview since leaving office
The pre-taped interview was conducted at Trump's Bedminster, N.J., golf club on Thursday, NBC said in a news release. Meet the Press has also invited President Biden for an interview.
Trump had praised Welker for how she moderated the Oct. 2020 presidential debate between him and Biden, the Associated Press reported.
