via mediaite
Dan Abrams was highly skeptical of Chuck Todd’s claim that he’s stepping down as the host of Meet The Press of his own accord.
The NewsNation host and Mediaite founder took time on Monday to address the news that Todd will be leaving his anchor chair — with NBC News’ Kristen Welker taking his place starting in the fall. Todd will remain at NBC as their chief political analyst, and his run as moderator was celebrated in a staff memo from NBC News’ president of editorial, Rebecca Blumenstein, and NBC News’ senior vice president of politics, Carrie Budoff Brown.
Abrams noted that “for the most part, most people just don’t care if Chuck Todd hosts the show or not,” but argued the way Todd’s exit was handled speaks to a larger trust issue for news organizations.
“Here’s what does matter,” he added. “That a news operation that is supposed to be seeking out the truth and providing its viewers and readers with accurate information, calling out fact from fiction. And yet, they are almost certainly creating a fictionalized version of what happened.”
Abrams determined that Todd “was clearly forced out of the role and replaced” with Welker. He also expressed clear disbelief at Todd’s insistence that he’s leaving Meet The Press to spend more time with his family and focus on other kinds of projects.
I like Chuck Todd. I think he was often in a no-win situation on that show, but he’s going to stay at NBC and just choose to relinquish his highest profile role with the 2024 election around the corner? The one that arguably takes up less time than being the chief political analyst for NBC News? You don’t need to get up early every morning to host a Sunday show.
Abrams assessed that NBC’s spin was “almost certainly a lie” since there have been rumors of Todd’s imminent ouster for months. Abrams invoked Poynter’s coverage on those rumblings back in November, where Todd insisted at the time that he wouldn’t be leaving his chair “anytime soon.”