Kristen Welker, First Black Woman To Moderate A Presidential Debate In 28 Years, Faces Scrutiny

The final presidential debate will be moderated by NBC’s Kristen Welker, an African American woman who has worked as the White House correspondent for the network since 2011 and became the co-anchor for Weekend Today in January.

President Donald Trump has trained his insults on Welker for days now, saying she is ‘very biased.’

Trump also described Welker’s parents, Harvey and Julie Welker, as ‘very biased.’

He and his supporters have seized on a photograph of Welker and her dad with former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. According to NBC, the White House Press Corps attends an annual holiday party at the White House and takes a picture with its occupant, explaining that Welker also attended the 2017 White House party for reporters which was hosted by the Trump administration but has since been discontinued.

In an interview with The Philadelphia Tribune, Welker’s mother said her daughter is ready for the significant task ahead of her.

“She’s very knowledgeable when it comes to the issues because she has been White House correspondent during both the Obama years and Trump years,” said Julie Welker. “She’s not an opinion reporter. She’s not a talking head. She is a true journalist, so she wants to bring the information and answers to the American people.”

Tonight’s debate will give Americans one last look at the two presidential candidates before Election Day. The first debate moderated by Fox News’ Chris Wallace was chaotic. And, according to some polls, that debate eroded some of Trump’s standing among voters who viewed him as bullying former Vice-President Joe Biden and Wallace. The second debate was canceled when Trump refused to participate in a virtual debate even though he had recently been released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment of the coronavirus.

Both Trump and Biden held town hall meetings in lieu of the second debate. NBC’s Savannah Guthrie grilled Trump on the conspiracy group QAnon, his coronavirus response, and white supremacy. He later said she had gone “totally crazy” and accused ABC’s George Stephanopoulos of taking it easy on Biden during his town hall which aired at the same time as Trump’s.

Tonight, the pressure will be on Welker, who is the first Black woman to moderate a presidential debate since Carole Simpson in 1992. With only 12 days remaining in the election season, this debate will provide voters their last opportunity to see the two men standing side-by-side who want to lead the country discuss their ideas and plans.