Trump Attacks Next Debate Moderator Kristen Welker as ‘Terrible & Unfair’ But Says ‘I’ll Still Play the Game’

Josh FeldmanOct 17th, 2020, 3:56 pm
 

Joshua Roberts / Getty Images

President Donald Trump went after the moderator of the final presidential debate, NBC’s Kristen Welker on Twitter Saturday afternoon, days before that debate is set to take place.

The president shared a tweet from his son Don Jr. linking to a New York Post report on Welker’s “deep Democratic ties,” citing Democrats her parents have given money to and how she has asked questions of the Trump White House and prominent Democrats. The report includes one anonymous White House official going off on Welker and saying, “Anyone who’s ever dealt with Welker knows she’s an activist, not a reporter. The White House press team views her the same way they would AOC or Pelosi if they walked in the office.”

Trump tweeted Welker has “always been terrible & unfair” but indicated he will show up at the debate.

“She’s always been terrible & unfair, just like most of the Fake News reporters, but I’ll still play the game. The people know! How’s Steve Scully doing?” he tweeted.

After the wild first presidential debate, Trump repeatedly went after Chris Wallace, and has made it a recurring part of his recent campaign rallies.

Prior to what was going to be the second debate, the president went after Steve Scully — the planned moderator — which led to Scully tweeting to Anthony Scaramucci asking if he should respond, then claiming he was hacked, then admitting he lied about being hacked.

Instead of that second debate, Trump participated in an NBC town hall — going after the network and Savannah Guthrie both before and after the event.

UPDATE — 4:33 pm ET: A number of Welker’s media colleagues came to her defense after the Post report and the president’s tweet, particularly on the photo of her at an Obama White House Christmas party that many journalists and media figures regularly attended:

The comment from Trump 2020 campaign adviser Jason Miller referenced above came from his recent appearance on Fox News with Martha MacCallum talking about the cancellation of the second debate and going after the debate commission and the Biden campaign, but making a point of saying, “I have a very high opinion of Kristen Welker. I think she’s going to do an excellent job as the moderator for the third debate. I think she’s a journalist who’s very fair in her approach. And I think that she’ll be a very good choice for this third debate.”

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Josh Feldman - Senior Editor

Josh Feldman is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Email him here: josh@mediaite.com Follow him on Twitter: @feldmaniac