NBC’s Chuck Todd Gives His Last Sign-Off as Host of Meet The Press: ‘I’m Proud to Be a Member of This Team’
Chuck Todd offered his farewells to Meet The Press as he stepped down as host of the noted Sunday political talk show.
Todd called his nine-year run as moderator “the honor and privilege of my lifetime” as he used his last show to hold interviews with Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA). In his outro, Todd spoke about the gravity of the role with his successor, Kristen Welker, before offering lasting impressions about his time on the show.
On my first day on the job at Meet The Press, I was handed an audience show survey of Sunday show viewers and the Number One reason folks said they tuned in was not who the person was behind the chair or the guest. It was simply to get educated.
So for nearly a decade, I’ve had the honor of helping to explain Washington to America and America to Washington as Kristen just quoted me about, and it’s that education piece that I’m hanging my hat on for the rest of my professional life. One thing we will lament, we all lament lately, is the lack of knowledge and nuance in our politics and citizenship. That’s a vacuum I hope to continue to fill, whether in our continued coverage on NBC, or via other venues like docuseries, docudramas focus on bridging our divides and piercing these political bubbles, and I’ll continue to be a part of NBC’s political coverage.
As he gave his thanks to Meet The Press’ production staff, Todd went on to say “Television is a team sport, and I’m proud to be a member of this team and stay a member of this team, even as a spectator, cheerleader and adviser.”
“That’s all for today,” Todd concluded. “Thanks for watching, and for so many years of loyalty to me and to this show. I’m happy to say my colleague Kristen Welker is going to be here next week because it doesn’t matter who sits in this chair,” he said. “If it’s Sunday, it’s Meet the Press.”
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