Chuck Todd, the moderator of NBC’s Sunday morning talk show Meet the Press since 2014, will be leaving the show in September. Todd revealed the news during Sunday morning’s episode of the show. Kristen Welker will take over the position.
Todd has not been fired from the network. After leaving Meet The Press, he will assume the role of NBC’s chief political analyst. Todd claims that he is leaving the show to spend more time with his family and focus on long-form projects, such as documentary series and documentary dramas.
“I’ve let work consume me for nearly 30 years,” he said. “I can’t remember the last time I didn’t wake up before 5 or 6 a.m., and as I’ve watched too many friends and family let work consume them before it was too late, I promised my family I wouldn’t do that.”
Reflecting on his time as the host, he stated, “When I took on Meet the Press, there were doubts about its relevance in today’s media landscape. Well, I believe we have not only answered those doubts but surpassed expectations.”
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
Really? I wouldn’t say that. The show was once a staple of Sunday morning political talk shows. I remember watching it fairly consistently when Tim Russert was the host. Russert was known for his tough but fair interviews. He was praised by both liberals and conservatives for his willingness to challenge his guests on their positions, regardless of party, whether it was interviewing Bill Clinton about the Monica Lewinsky scandal or George W. Bush about the Iraq war. Russert was also known for his deep knowledge of policy and his ability to ask incisive questions.
Chuck Todd, however, was anything but neutral. He’s displayed notorious partisanship as a moderator, often pushing Democratic Party talking points. For example, during a recent interview with Vivek Ramaswamy, he falsely claimed there’s evidence of more than two genders.
“There is a lot of scientific research that says gender is a spectrum,” Todd claimed.
Related: Vivek Ramaswamy Schools Chuck Todd on the Evils of Transitioning Children
Of course, that didn’t stop Todd from claiming to have been objective or to value fairness. “I’ll be honest though,” he remarked, “I leave feeling concerned about this moment in history but reassured by the standards we’ve set here.”
He continued, “We didn’t tolerate propagandists, and this network and program never will. But it doesn’t mean sticking your head in the sand, either. If you ignore reality, you’ll miss the big story. Being a real political journalist isn’t about building a brand, it’s about reporting what’s happening and explaining why it’s happening, and letting the public absorb the facts. If you do this job seeking popularity, you’re doing this job incorrectly. I take the attacks from partisans as compliments, and I take the compliments from partisans with a grain of salt.”
Yeah, okay, buddy.
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