Chuck Todd Announces ‘Meet the Press’ Exit, Kristen Welker to Replace Him
Chuck Todd told MSNBC viewers on Sunday, June 4, that he’ll end his run as moderator of Meet the Press this September, leaving a post he has held since September 2014.
Todd made the announcement at the end of Sunday’s show, saying that this would be his final summer with Meet the Press. “It’s been an amazing, nearly decade-long run,” he observed. “I’m really proud of what this team and I have built over the last decade. Frankly, the last 15 years that I’ve been here at NBC, which also includes my time as political director.”
In addition to moderating the flagship show, Todd also anchored Meet the Press Daily on MSNBC for eight seasons and launched Meet the Press NOW on NBC News NOW‘s streaming platform. launched Meet the Press NOW on the streaming platform
Today we close our show with an announcement from @chucktodd:
"While today is not my final show, this will be my final summer here at Meet the Press. … I am really proud of what this team and I have built over the last decade." pic.twitter.com/sgeUcNR3C5
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) June 4, 2023
“I’ve loved so much of this job, helping to explain America to Washington and explain Washington to America,” Todd said on Sunday’s broadcast. “The key to survival of any of these incredible media entities, including here at Meet the Press, is for leaders to not overstay their welcome. I’d rather leave a little bit too soon than stay a tad bit too long.”
Todd, who joined NBC News as political director in 2007, will become the news division’s chief political analyst to get more time with his family, telling viewers he’ll work on docuseries and docudramas “focused on trying to bridge our divides and pierce political troubles.”
And the 51-year-old said that NBC News White House correspondent and Weekend Today co-anchor Kristen Welker will replace him as Meet the Press moderator. “I’ve had the privilege of working with her from essentially her first day here in Washington,” he said. “And let me just say, she’s the right person in the right moment. And for what it’s worth, this is always how I hoped this would end for me, that I’d be passing the baton to her.”
Jim Bourg-Pool/Getty Images
In a letter to staff, Rebecca Blumenstein, NBC News’ president of editorial, and Carrie Budoff Brown, NBC News’ senior vice president of politics, praised Todd’s work on the show.
“Under Chuck’s thoughtful and passionate leadership, Meet the Press has sustained its historic role as the indispensable news program on Sunday mornings,” they wrote, per Deadline. “Through his penetrating interviews with many of the most important newsmakers, the show has played an essential role in politics and policy, routinely made front-page news, and framed the thinking in Washington and beyond.”
Blumenstein and Brown also hailed Welker as Todd’s successor. “She has masterfully moderated primary and general election presidential debates, and her sharp questioning of lawmakers is a masterclass in political interviews,” they wrote. “She is a dogged reporter who relishes getting big scoops and is widely admired throughout the bureau and the network for her deeply collaborative nature.”
Past moderators of Meet the Press — at 75 years old, the longest-running show on American television — include Tim Russert, Tom Brokaw, and David Gregory.
