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Chuck Todd leaving NBC political panel show 91ƵMeet the Press91Ƶ and being replaced by Kristen Welker

Chuck Todd said on Sunday that he91Ƶll be leaving 91ƵMeet the Press91Ƶ after a tumultuous near-decade of moderating the NBC political panel show , to be replaced in the coming months by Kristen Welker.

Chuck Todd said on Sunday that he91Ƶll be leaving 91ƵMeet the Press91Ƶ after a tumultuous near-decade of , to be replaced in the coming months by Kristen Welker.

Todd, 51, told viewers that 91ƵI91Ƶve watched too many friends and family let work consume them before it was too late91Ƶ and that he91Ƶd promised his family he wouldn91Ƶt do that.

Todd has often been an online punching bag for critics, including Donald Trump, during a polarized time, and there were rumors that his time at the show would be short when its executive producer was reassigned at the end of last summer, but NBC gave no indication this was anything other than Todd91Ƶs decision. It91Ƶs unclear when Todd91Ƶs last show will be, but he told viewers that this would be his final summer.

91ƵI leave feeling concerned about this moment in history but reassured by the standards we91Ƶve set here,91Ƶ Todd said. 91ƵWe , and this network and program never will.91Ƶ

Welker, a former chief White House correspondent, has been at NBC News in Washington since 2011 and has been Todd91Ƶs chief fill-in for the past three years. She drew praise for between Trump, a Republican, and Joe Biden, a Democrat, in 2020.

Her 91Ƶsharp questioning of lawmakers is a masterclass in political interviews,91Ƶ said Rebecca Blumenstein, NBC News president of editorial, in a memo announcing Welker91Ƶs elevation on Sunday.

Now Welker, 46, will be thrust into what promises to be another contentious presidential election cycle.

The Sunday morning political interview show has aired since 1947, led by inventor and first host Martha Rountree. Its peak came in the years that Tim Russert moderated, from 1991 until his death in 2008, with its footing less certain since then. Tom Brokaw briefly filled in after Russert91Ƶs death, and David Gregory replaced him until being forced out in favor of Todd.

Welker will be the first Black moderator of 91ƵMeet the Press91Ƶ and the first woman since Rountree left in 1953.

Todd said that he was proud of expanding the 91ƵMeet the Press91Ƶ brand to a daily show, which initially aired on MSNBC but was shifted to streaming, along with podcasts and newsletters, even a film festival.

91ƵHe transformed the brand into a vital modern-day franchise, expanding its footprint to an array of new mediums, and kept 91ƵMeet the Press91Ƶ at the forefront of political discourse,91Ƶ Blumenstein said.

It didn91Ƶt stop critics from jumping on to social media when they didn91Ƶt like an interview Todd conducted. Trump even anointed Todd with one of his signature nicknames, Sleepy Eyes, and later called on NBC to fire Todd in 2020 over its airing of a CBS interview clip with his then-Attorney General William Barr. Todd later said the show had been unaware at the time of a longer soundbite of the interview that would have provided more context, and he apologized for the mistake.

Todd was roasted at the White House Correspondents91Ƶ Association dinner in 2022 by Trevor Noah, who pointed him out in the audience and said, 91ƵHow are you doing? I91Ƶd ask a follow-up, but I know you don91Ƶt know what those are.91Ƶ

Todd alluded to his critics in announcing his exit on Sunday.

91ƵIf you do this job seeking popularity, you are doing this job incorrectly,91Ƶ he said. 91ƵI take the attacks from partisans as compliments. And I take the genuine compliments with a grain of salt when they come from partisans.91Ƶ

The goal of each show, he said, is to 91Ƶmake you mad, make you think, shake your head in disapproval at some point and nod your head in approval at others.91Ƶ

In the just-concluded television season, 91ƵMeet the Press91Ƶ was third in viewers after CBS91Ƶ 91ƵFace the Nation91Ƶ and ABC91Ƶs 91ƵThis Week,91Ƶ each of them averaging between 2.5 million and 2.9 million viewers, the Nielsen ratings company said.

David Bauder, The Associated Press

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