Longtime “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd on Sunday announced he will be leaving the politics panel show to focus on other projects and his family, with NBC appointing Kristen Welker as his replacement.
Todd, 51, told viewers that he was shifting his priorities in order to avoid being consumed by work like past colleagues, with his last show scheduled for later this year.
‘While today is not my final show, this is going to be my final summer here at Meet the Press,” Todd said. “I am really proud of what this team and I have built over the last decade.”
Todd, who took over as moderator of the long-running program in 2014, has frequently been a punching bag for critics amid America’s culture wars — and rumors had been floating around that the show would be axed over low ratings when its executive producer was reassigned last year.
The host appeared to address some of the criticism levied against him over the years in his goodbye speech, as he warned newcomers: “If you do this job seeking popularity, you are doing this job incorrectly. I take the attacks from partisans as compliments.
“And I take the genuine compliments with a grain of salt when they come from partisans,” he added.
Despite the recent tumultuous years on the job, Todd happily reminisced about his time anchoring the show.
“’I’ve loved so much of this job helping to explain America to Washington and explain Washington to America,” he said.
“The key to survival of any of these incredible media entities, including here at Meet the Press, is for leaders not to overstay their welcome,” he added. “I’d rather leave a little bit too soon than stay a tad bit too long.”
Todd is set to remain with NBC News under the new role of chief political analyst, where he will work on projects aimed at “’trying to educate the public better, bridge our divides and pierce our political bubbles.”
With Todd stepping down, the network appears to be cashing in on Welker, 46, a chief White House correspondent who served as Todd’s chief fill-in for the past three years and drew high praise for moderating the final debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden in 2020.
Welker will be stepping into the limelight in what is poised to be yet another contentious presidential election cycle.
Rebecca Blumenstein, NBC News president of editorial, praised Welker in a Sunday memo announcing the change up, saying her “sharp questioning of lawmakers is a masterclass in political interviews.”
Blumenstein also thanked Todd for his role on the show since former host David Gregory was forced out in favor of the network’s then-rising star.
“He transformed the brand into a vital modern-day franchise, expanding its footprint to an array of new mediums, and kept ‘Meet the Press’ at the forefront of political discourse,” Blumenstein said of Todd.
Meet the Press first aired in 1947 led by its founder and host Martha Rountree, with the show reaching its peak under Tim Russert from 1997 until his death in 2008.
With Post wires