NBC’s Kristen Welker Gets Pummeled By the Online Left for (Accurately) Saying Trump ‘Allegedly’ Tried to Overturn the 2020 Election
Kristen Welker of NBC’s Meet The Press was mercilessly trolled by the online left Sunday for using the term “allegedly” when talking about Donald Trump in connection with the efforts to overturn the 2020 election — a term that, in the purely legal context in which it was clearly being discussed by Welker, is entirely accurate.
The line from Welker which set off the firestorm came at the outset of her show Sunday — in which she previewed a conversation with Nikki Haley.
“Haley also weighing in on the Supreme Court’s decision to hear Mr. Trump’s claim that he’s immune from criminal prosecution for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election,” Welker said.
Left-wing social media pundits were incensed:
Kristen Welker says that Trump “allegedly” tried to overturn the 2020 election. No, he really tried to do that. We lived through it! pic.twitter.com/MUDxFL3P7m
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 3, 2024
MSNBC’s Kristen Welker said Trump “allegedly” tried to overturn the 2020 election. This is literal fake news. Trump *did* try to overturn the election, and was charged in DC and Georgia for doing so. Why is Kristen Welker whitewashing Trump’s crimes? And why is MSNBC letting her?
— Dash Dobrofsky (@DashDobrofsky) March 3, 2024
Kristen Welker has allegedly stopped even trying to be unbiased and has now gone full Fox News. He’s literally on tape trying to get local officials in key states to overturn their elections. https://t.co/7UElA0FuVn
— TVMoJoe (@TVMoJoe) March 3, 2024
He will say to you right now if you ask him that he tried to overturn the election. What are we doing here on this show every week? https://t.co/LwvLyvzvuV
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) March 3, 2024
WTF, Kristen Welker? Donald Trump did not “allegedly” try to overturn the 2020 election as you just said on Meet the Press. He intentionally & deliberately tried overturning the 2020 election & we literally have proof. What you just did is journalistic malpractice. Shameful.
— Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) March 3, 2024
Even a White House spokesperson, Deputy Communications Director Herbie Ziskend, suggested Welker was wrong to use the word allegedly to describe a crime for which Donald Trump has not yet been convicted.
“Allegedly”
Please do better, folks. https://t.co/zFeEx7G1cU
— Herbie Ziskend (@HerbieZiskend46) March 3, 2024
At hand in Welker’s statement were the federal criminal charges on Trump’s effort to overturn the election — specific criminal acts that are alleged and of which he has not yet been found guilty. While the many ways Trump attempted to cling to power and prevent Joe Biden from taking office are the subject of multiple investigations, including by Congress, in the pending cases, the criminal acts with which he is charged remain “alleged” until he is convicted.
It is a facet of reporting on investigations and criminal charges that is commonplace and considered standard, and one of which NBC News is hardly the only practitioner. PBS, Reuters and ABC News are just a few of the many outlets which have also used the word “allegedly” in the same context.
Watch the clip above via NBC News.
