Chuck Todd out at NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ successor named: ‘I’d rather leave a little bit too soon…’

An emotional Chuck Todd announced a changing of the guard on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” Sunday as he named a successor and offered an ironic claim to address fake news.

(Video: NBC News)

Corporate media shakeups have grown to become commonplace as networks endeavor to adapt to a changing landscape or, as appeared to be the case with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, maintain a preferred narrative. So when Todd revealed at the end of Sunday’s program that he would be shifting roles, the announcement itself wasn’t nearly as stunning as the claims it contained.

After returning from break near the end of the broadcast, the longtime host of “Meet the Press” appeared to get choked up as he said, “I have a personal announcement. While today is not my final show, this is gonna be my final summer here at ‘Meet the Press.’ It’s been an amazing, nearly decade-long run. I’m pretty — really proud of what this team and I have built over the last decade and frankly the last 15 years that I’ve been here at NBC.”

To the personal side, Todd argued, “I’d rather leave a little bit too soon than stay a tad bit too long,” before revealing, “I’ve let work consume me for nearly 30 years. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t wake up before 5 or 6 a.m. and as I’ve watched too many friends and family let work consume them before it was too late, I promised my family I wouldn’t do that.”

Beyond that, as he prepared to shift to become NBC’s chief political analyst and pass the hosting baton to co-chief White House correspondent Kristen Welker, he suggested, “When I took over ‘Meet the Press,’ it was a Sunday show that had a lot of people questioning whether it still could have a place in the modern media space. Well, I think we’ve answered that question and then some.”

Going further, Todd, who himself had repeatedly been caught pushing a narrative instead of facts, did so again as he claimed, “We didn’t tolerate propagandists and this network and program never will. But it doesn’t mean sticking your head in the sand either. If you ignore reality, you’ll miss the big story.”

Some may recall the host famously hosted an hour long special in 2018 dedicated to climate change where he was pushing settled science before it became cool for The Science™ to change.

“We’re not going to debate climate change, the existence of it. The Earth is getting hotter. And human activity is a major cause, period,” Todd began the program. “We’re not going to give time to climate deniers. The science is settled, even if political opinion is not.”

Of course, science on the climate remained far from settled as the host offered up biased coverage in place of robust debate, much like he would go on to do when COVID became the prevailing issue of a generation.

“Nearly 10,000 people died in the month of June. They were needless deaths. Please get vaccinated. If you know someone who’s not vaccinated, find a way to convince them to get vaccinated. Literally,” Todd claimed in what may as well have been a promotional spot for Big Pharma, “the only people dying are the unvaccinated.”

“And for those of you spreading misinformation,” he finger-wagged, “shame on you. Shame on you. People are needlessly dying because of your misinformation. Think about it. I don’t know how some of you sleep at night.”

More recently, the host once again proved his zealotry to partisan propaganda over facts as he challenged businessman, Republican presidential candidate, and biology degree recipient from Harvard University Vivek Ramaswamy on the subject of gender.

“Are you confident? that you know that gender is as binary as you’re describing it? Are you confident?” Todd pressed as his guest replied, “I am.”

“Do you know this as a scientist?” he further tried only to get smacked down, “Well, there’s two X chromosomes if you’re a woman, and an X and a Y that means you’re a man–”

With one more attempt to get the upper hand, Todd reflexively turned to The Science™ and insisted, “There is a lot of scientific research that says gender is a spectrum.”

“Chuck,” Ramaswamy began before disabusing the host of his argument, “I respectfully disagree. Gender dysphoria for most of our history, all the way through the DSM-5, has been characterized as a mental health disorder. And I don’t think it’s compassionate to affirm that. I think that’s cruelty.”

After Todd’s announcement, Welker, who will replace him at an unspecified date in September, took to social media to praise his influences on her, “@chucktodd has been a mentor and friend since my first day at @NBCNews. I’ve learned so much from sitting with him at the anchor desk and simply experiencing his passion for politics. I’m humbled and grateful to take the baton and continue to build on the legacy of @MeetThePress.”

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Kevin Haggerty

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