NBC’s Lester Holt Doesn’t Want to Moderate Another Presidential Debate: ‘Lose My Number’

Lester Holt capably moderated the very first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016. But at a recent Paley Center sit-down with colleague Andrea Mitchell, however, he seemed to say that he has no interest in doing it again.

Though he said “incredibly gratifying to be a part of” the debate, he insinuated it was an incredibly nerve-wracking affair and that he has not watched it to this day.

“I remember at the end of the evening, we had a little reception with our staff and I was leaving and one of the people from the debate commission said ‘great job, hope you see you in four years’ and I said ‘lose my number,’” he said. The statement is somewhat startling since for a network anchor like Holt, moderating a debate is one of the most important and relevant jobs one can do.

So there you have it. The debate commission will have to find another high profile news anchor to kick around in 2020. Well, don’t take that to the bank quite yet. One has to believe that he didn’t actually mean it literally. Otherwise, he might want to find a new profession.

[image via screenshot]

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