Meet the Press premiered Sunday morning with a new moderator, a former president, and a disturbingly familiar pattern of mainstream media

normalizing extremism extremist deception

for reviews.

Kristen Welker, NBC News’ co-chief White House correspondent, spoke with the Republican front-runner for president for a segment teased as

Donald

Trumping

“

first network interview since his departure

,

a tame description for someone

who has been

indicted

on numerous

criminal

ies involving efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and

who has been found guilty of sexual abuse

in a civil lawsuit

since losing the White House to Joe Biden.

But the televised event also highlighted a problem that traditional news outlets have faced since Trump emerged as a powerful figure on the political scene in 2016.

TV

star as any other presidential candidate or winner before him assumes

That

he plays by the same rules as his predecessors. Newsflash:

H

It is needed.

A

storming of the US Capitol

and four charges later it’s clear

That

interview dynamics that Meet the Press has applied

since Harry Truman was in power

won’t work in 2023. At least for people who would actually like to see a substantive conversation or whims of past or future leaders.

Sunday’s new chapter of Meet the Press set the stage for the interview’s opener that touched on impeachment, the president’s legal troubles and how his questionable dealings with family members could affect his chances in the 2024 election. But they were talking about it

President

Biden, not Trump. The setup confirmed long-held complaints by both

S

ideism in traditional journalism, when an issue between opposing beliefs is presented as more balanced than supported by evidence.

The show’s producers certainly saw this as an opportunity to showcase Chuck Todd’s skills

successorpredecessor

,

Unpleasant

proving she could hold her own against a notoriously difficult interview subject. Todd announced

last week that

he left his post after nine years

by

host of the public affairs talk show, although he remains at NBC News. Welker is the first black journalist to do this

moderate “Meet the Press,” the longest-running show on television. show started on November 6, 1947, NBC SAYS IT celebrated its 75th anniversary last year

Trump’s camp likely saw it as an opportunity to reach viewers beyond his loyal Fox News constituency, normalizing a troubled candidate for a wary electorate.

But it’s doubtful Sunday’s show moved the needle one way or another. There was no chance of arriving at any kind of shared truth in response to Welker’s questions about abortion policy, Ukraine, China, the storage of classified documents or his involvement in a deadly January 6 incident.

revolt

.

Trump rolled over his interviewer and attacked his opponents with a barrage of insults while advancing the narratives he wanted to push. To her credit, Welker challenged him better than most of her peers.

included

Chris Wallace

And

Meg and Kelly

. She pressured him for federal v

ersus

state ban on abortion, its slow response to the January 6 attack, and

or

as

he was elected president again, eh?

would

Hi

sending troops to Taiwan as China

where to

invade

D

. There were no major revelations in his answers

,

but there is a lot of blister in it

Government of Florida

Ron De Schijnlijkheid

DeSantis

and the “deranged, crazy

prosecutor

“WHO

he says

focused on him.

Welker asked about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s praise for him

after Trump

criticized Biden’s handling of the war between Russia and Ukraine, arguing that if he

what were

during his time in office he would quickly end the conflict. In an earlier report, NBC News reported on Putin’s praise for Trump

at the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia last week

,

where he said,

“We certainly hear Mr. Trump saying he will resolve all burning issues within days, including the Ukraine crisis. We can’t help but be happy with it.”

Trump’s response: “Well, I like that he said that because that means what I’m saying is right.”

Old

how

are Trumps

admiration for the radiant Putin,

Hello from Trump

softened his combative nature for the former

–

recorded interview. Instead of attacking his questioner and

to silence

her with bullying, he complained that Welker was cutting him off and not allowing him to finish his thoughts. Quite a comment from the King of Interrupters.

He responded to tougher questions with untruths that may have shocked us seven years ago

,

but are now par for the course. What did you do then?

c

apitol was attacked? Welker asked.

Nancy Pelosi was in charge of security,” he claimed. She refused 10,000 soldiers. If she hadn’t done that, the attack wouldn’t have happened.

Nancy Pelosi didn’t have the authority, you did, pressed Welker.

Pelosi is responsible for January 6, Trump emphasized.

There was no point in correcting the outright lies at this point, so Welker did so before the commercial breaks. A little context here on Mr. Trump’s allegations

. H

He commanded troops in the days leading up to the January attack

.uary

6

e

attack. The Defense Department says the former president never issued a formal order to have 10,000 troops ready to deploy to the Capitol. Of course, it is unreasonable to blame former Speaker Pelosi or the legislature on Capitol Hill for what happened that day. Pelosi’s office said at the time that the claim that she had turned away troops had been cited

“

‘completely made up.

‘

The sit-down could prove to be a ratings win for the network, and maybe even

further

has boosted Welker’s career, but it has failed to break the usual low-information blister of past interviews with the former president. Trump what Trump. Legacy media was legacy media.

But somewhere in between lies the high-stakes ratings story

vs vs

journalistic responsibility

,

and the dangers that dance poses to our democracy.