President Donald Trump has seemingly picked a reporter to give some of the largest scoops to ahead of his first days in office: NBC’s Kristen Welker.
Welker has managed to illicit some of Trump’s most notable reactions to breaking news in the last week. She phoned up the incoming president on Saturday to discuss the weekend TikTok ban, and she secured his reaction on Monday to President Joe Biden’s pardon of his family members.
The news breaks came as Welker has fashioned herself as one of NBC News' top reporters in recent years, nabbing Trump’s first network TV sit-down after the election, while Trump has suggested he’ll have a more cordial relationship with a press he often publicly berates and is currently suing.
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It also comes as Meet the Press beat its Sunday talk show competitors in 2024’s last quarter in the 25-54 age demographic —a key metric for advertisers, but also for a politician with a yearslong ratings obsession.
Welker reported she spoke to Trump by phone on Saturday, where he said he would “most likely” grant a 90-day extension before a TikTok ban would take effect. He also discussed his plan to quickly begin mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, a “record number” of day-one executive orders, and how he plans to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the ceasefire deal soon after taking office. Trump announced on Sunday an incoming reprieve for TikTok, which came back online later that day.
And after Biden issued eleventh-hour pardons to five members of his family over fears of political and legal retribution by the Trump administration, Trump texted Welker his reaction: “It is disgraceful. Many are guilty of MAJOR CRIMES! DJT”
The two have not always had the frostiest relationship. Trump lashed out at Welker shortly before she moderated the final 2020 election debate between him and Biden, calling her “terrible & unfair” despite his senior adviser praising her in an interview. (He later complimented her performance during the debate.)
Still, Trump gave Welker a sit-down for her Meet the Press debut in 2023, where she pressed him on issues including abortion and immigration at a time where he refused to participate in GOP primary debates. He also gave her his first network TV interview last month after winning the 2024 election, one where he promised to pardon Jan. 6 rioters, deport all undocumented immigrants, end birthright citizenship, and suggested former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) should be imprisoned.
Trump has often labeled the media as “the enemy of the people,” promising to “straighten out” mainstream media outlets he dislikes through lawsuits and through the force of government. He sued ABC News, CBS News, and the Des Moines Register last year, and ABC News paid $16 million to settle with him.
Still, he often elects to speak with reporters from those same news outlets. He spoke directly to ABC News' Rachel Scott and Jonathan Karl in recent months, and he gave CNN’s Kaitlan Collins his immediate reaction to Biden dropping out of the 2024 election.
Welker, who rose through NBC as a White House correspondent and Weekend Today co-anchor before her turn as Meet the Press moderator, has played host to nearly all of the government’s incoming political leadership in the last month.
She hosted Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) earlier this month after the 119th Congress’ first week, and she pressed both House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on Sunday.
