President-elect Donald Trump will break his extended hiatus from non-Fox News legacy media outlets this weekend. With one month to go before he re-enters the Oval Office, Trump is set to speak with NBC News’ Kristen Welker on this Sunday’s edition of Meet the Press.
It’s his first network interview since Election Night, when the Republican candidate defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the hard-fought 2024 presidential election cycle. Welker will tape her conversation with Trump on Friday, with highlights set to air across NBC News platforms ahead of Sunday’s full interview.
During the campaign, Trump largely avoided appearing on legacy networks outside of conservative-leaning outlets like FNC and Newsmax. Instead, he and his advisors pursued opportunities on new and emerging media platforms. Trump sat for extended interviews with podcasters like Joe Rogan and Theo Von, and also appeared alongside such social media influencers as Logan Paul and Adin Ross.
The notable exceptions, of course, were the two presidential debates. In June, Trump faced off against President Joe Biden on a CNN-hosted debate that re-defined the 2024 race, leading to Biden’s exit and Harris’ ascension to the top of the ticket. ABC News later hosted the sole Harris and Trump debate, and came under fire from campaign surrogates after moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis fact-checked Trump live on-air.
In contrast to Trump, Harris made several legacy media stops during her campaign. The vice president appeared on all three major cable news networks—Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC—as well as an election-themed edition of 60 Minutes that her rival withdrew from. In the new media realm, Harris was a guest on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast and was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey for a rally that streamed live on YouTube.
Since the election, more than a few Trump supporters have suggested that the president-elect may continue to embrace emerging media platforms. During a recent appearance on Sean Hannity‘s FNC show recent, incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated that “different voices” may be heard from during press briefings. And Elon Musk went so far as to suggest that X, formerly Twitter, is the new mainstream media.
But Trump’s decision to appear on Meet the Press suggests that he still sees some incentive in sitting for a broadcast news interview. It’s a big get for Welker, who celebrated her one-year anniversary as the show’s host in September.
