Republicans and conservatives were left appalled after NBC News picked Kristen Welker and Lester Holt to co-moderate next month’s third Republican primary debate.
Welker, the moderator of “Meet The Press,” and Holt, the face of “NBC Nightly News,” will be joined by conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt for the Nov. 8 showdown at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami.
Welker, who moderated the second and final debate of the 2020 presidential campaign between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, comes from a family with a long history of donating to Democratic politicians — and was once caught on live TV during the 2016 Democratic nomination battle giving Hillary Clinton’s communications director a heads-up about the questions she planned to ask.
“Lester Holt, Kristen Welker, and Hugh Hewitt to moderate third GOP debate – so I don’t understand WHY would Republicans want an entire panel of liberal moderators as if there are no other journalists. Biased questions don’t help voters,” former Maryland lieutenant governor hopeful Gordana Schifanelli said on X Thursday.
“Absolute insanity,” said Tom Bevan, co-founder of RealClearPolitics, of the choice of moderators.
“The GOP is run by morons, but in fairness to them, they can’t be any worse than previous moderators. At least there won’t be any Survivor questions,” said Townhall columnist Derek Hunter, referring to a question posed by Fox News host Dana Perino during the second debate last month.
“Simply amazing to me that the GOP hasn’t learned that in a Republican primary, you should never, ever let a single Democrat moderate your debates,” added former Republican Senate candidate Sean Parnell.
Holt, a former registered Republican who changed his party affiliation to independent in 2018, moderated the first 2016 general election debate between Trump and Clinton.
Hewitt, who has interviewed most of the Republican presidential candidates on his Salem Radio Network morning show, co-moderated three debates during the 2016 GOP primary.
So far, at least five candidates appear to have met the Republican National Committee’s requirements to qualify for the third debate.
Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Trump has said he will skip the debate and hold a campaign rally in nearby Hialeah, Fla.
Former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) appear to be on the outside looking in at the moment.
To qualify for the debate stage, candidates must receive contributions from 70,000 unique donors — up from 50,000 for last month’s second debate — and either reach 4% in two recognized national polls or 4% in one national and 4% in one poll from two of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina — the four states that kick off the 2024 Republican primary calendar.
Candidates must also receive at least 200 unique donors per state or territory in at least 20 of those jurisdictions.
Pence has clearly hit the polling metric but hasn’t confirmed that he met the donor requirement.
Scott’s campaign claims it has met the polling requirement, although some independent trackers have questioned that.
The RNC is expected to confirm the candidate lineup 48 hours before the debate takes place.
NBC is partnering with the Republican Jewish Coalition, Salem Radio Network, and Rumble — the RNC’s streaming partner — for the November debate.
The RNC’s media partners for the first two debates were Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network/Univision, respectively.
The first Republican presidential contest — the Iowa caucuses — is slated for Jan. 15.