Donald Trump exits after tense ‘Meet the Press’ interview
President Donald Trump abruptly ended an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” after Kristen Welker challenged baseless election claims.
Luke Russert is returning to television, following in the footsteps of his father, Tim Russert, who was once America’s Sunday morning favorite.
The only son of the television icon, who died of a heart attack in 2008, currently co-hosts “The Weeknight,” a 7 p.m. news show on the left-leaning MS NOW, the second most-watched cable news network in the United States after right-wing Fox News. For him, this comes after a decade away from television and a changing attitude toward cable news programming.
But Russert says wisdom can improve the political news landscape.
“Young men, in their 20s, they can be very confident, but they can be too cocky or overconfident,” Russert told USA TODAY. “As you get older, I’m 40 years old, you have a few years of experience and you feel more comfortable sharing your opinions and feeling more grounded in your beliefs.”
His father was a former host of “Meet the Press,” which revolutionized the Sunday morning newscast format and was the longest-running presenter on the longest-running TV show in American history. Luke Russert’s re-emergence comes amid changing viewership trends as U.S. viewers watch more streaming programming.
Cable networks are hiring top millennial talent, including Russert and CNN’s Abby Phillippe and Caitlan Collins, to revive ratings during President Donald Trump’s second term. MS NOW has tapped the second-generation star to anchor its premiere broadcast, which will bridge the gap between his father’s era 18 years ago and the future of television.
The younger Mr. Russert left his role as NBC News’ Congressional Correspondent in July 2016 to embark on a decade-long quest to find deeper meaning in far-flung destinations. He wrote the New York Times bestseller “Looking for Me There: Grieving My Father and Finding Myself,” about his personal journey around the world and through grief.
“I think having that time has allowed me to understand what’s important, explore areas of the human condition that are often present in our politics, and really develop a sense of empathy and understanding,” Russert told USA TODAY.
Russert is expecting his first child with his wife, Laura Lomeli Russert, and will direct The Weeknight 18 years after losing his father. He joins Biden-Harris White House communications strategist Simone Sanders Townsend and Obama-era Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele.
Luke Russert: ‘I was always interested in politics as a kid’
Russert had a front row seat to history in Washington, where he was raised by the Russerts and longtime Vanity Fair correspondent Maureen Orth. Former “Meet the Press” executive producer Betsy Fisher Martin recalled when the team first hired Luke Russert in 1995. Texas billionaire Ross Perot is running for president as an independent. Young Mr. Russert donned Perot’s mask and went to meet the deceased Dallas magnate.
Fisher Martin, a producer turned professor at American University, recalled Russert as “a kid who was always interested in politics and what was going on.” Mr. Russert was an anchor on “MTP” in his childhood. Tim Russert, a former Democratic political staffer and then TV executive, is the son of Betty and Tim “Big Russ” Russert Sr., a garbage man from Buffalo, N.Y., who called him every time he went on air.
Barbara Cochran, another former MTP executive producer, said Tim Russert focused on longer interviews focused on Washington coverage amid mounting pressure to shorten segments and reach beyond Belt and Road.
Les Trent, a fellow Buffalo native and former Inside Edition correspondent who later covered Russert’s funeral, said Meet the Press was at its peak during Russert’s tenure.
“Buffalonians are a very hard-working people,” Trent said. “We’re known for enduring tough weather. We’re known for enduring Super Bowl losses, even though everyone still loves the Buffalo Bills.”
Trent said of the fellow Buffalo broadcast Hall of Famer that Russert “had great journalistic talent.” “When you combine that with Buffalo’s folksy approach to life, I think that’s why he was so popular,” Trent added.
The show grew from a half-hour broadcast to a one-hour ratings powerhouse during Tim Russert’s 17 years as host. Fisher Martin said Luke Russert attended major political rallies and occasional street shows with his father. “He was there, observing, asking questions, and he was always very respectful of the whole process and what was happening on the show,” Fisher Martin said.
Luke Russert departed abroad in sadness.
Russert later attended Boston University and graduated in 2008, but his father passed away on June 13 of the same year.
Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton attended the commemoration. The young Russert gave a moving eulogy at a public service. At one point during his speech, Russert left the podium to refill a glass of water. He came back and raised his glass to eye level. “When you hold this up, some people see the glass half empty, and some people see the glass half full,” Russert said during the June 18 service. “For Tim Russert, the glass was always half full.” Russert joined NBC News in August of that year.
Some online critics complained about nepotism in his hiring. He spoke to AdWeek at the time about overcoming this claim. “I certainly agree that the last name doesn’t hurt,” Russert said. But, he explained, “I actually have to produce.” He covered Congress for eight years for NBC. The backlash continued.
Not everyone likes him. Every big name and big name on TV has critics. “Luke Russert is an idiot,” conservative radio host Mark Levin wrote on X in 2015. That same year, former National Public Radio host Ken Rudin joked that it would be shameful for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is married to President Bill Clinton, and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the president’s son or grandson, to come to the presidency through inheritance. “Luke Russert and Chris Cuomo will discuss this in more detail later,” Rudin said.
In July 2016, four months before Trump was elected president, Russert left NBC, where his family had lived for many years. “It is no exaggeration to say that my broadcasting career began in an unusual way, following my graduation from college and the death of my father,” the statement reads. “As a result, I was so absorbed in my work that I never took time to think.”
He has traveled to more than 75 countries, including six continents, including Europe and Asia, and Cambodia, Colombia, and Ecuador. Criticism continued. Ann Coulter wrote in X magazine in September 2018 that Russert wouldn’t have a job if his name was anything other than Russert. “Wait, he doesn’t have a job? I’m wrong,” she added.
Mr. Russert’s memoir, “Look for Me There,” titled after the word his father used to describe father-son gatherings, was first published in May 2023. In December of the same year, he joined MSNBC as a host and director of live events.
MS NOW, formerly MSNBC and now known as “The World’s Source for News, Opinion, and Information,” debuted independent from NBC News last November. The channel has spun off from its former parent company, Comcast NBCUniversal, and is now under the umbrella of Versant, an independent, publicly traded media company.
This spring, Russert received a call from executives at MS NOW, led by former CNN executive Rebecca Kutler. “They said, ‘We’re not making any promises, but what if we do?'” Russert recalled.
Luke Russert looks ahead
The liberal newspaper The Daily Beast called Mr. Russert a “nepo baby” in a headline responding to the hiring announcement in March. Anthony Adornato, a professor at Syracuse University, said Russert’s public profile makes him a recognizable figure and it will be interesting to see how MS NOW builds on his on-air presence.
While MS NOW found success during the second Trump era, Adornato said America’s viewing habits have evolved since Tim Russert’s death in 2008. The news business currently operates in a filter bubble where people can choose what they want to see, explained Syracuse’s head of broadcast journalism.
“The algorithm is giving you what you believe, it’s not giving you information, it’s just making you feel good because it confirms what you believe,” Adornato said of viewers.
Russert replaced Alicia Menendez, the daughter of embattled former New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, on June 15. Menendez has been promoted and will now anchor “On the Line” weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.
His new co-hosts seem excited about Russert’s new role. Russert and Sanders Townsend bonded over the loss of their father. He shared a copy of “Look for Me There,” which contained personal notes, with a former Harris adviser, she said. “That’s just the kind of person he is,” Sanders-Townsend continued.
Mr. Steele once sparred with Mr. Russert’s father. In 2006, his father moderated a debate for the Republican challenger to former Republican Sen. Ben Cardin in the Maryland State Senate. “I hope we can come full circle in a way,” Steele said.
Young Russert’s life has come full circle. “Meet the Press,” his father’s former venue, is still in the news. On June 7, President Trump left an interview with current host Kristen Welker in Wisconsin. “Luke embodies much of what people admired about Tim Russert,” Welker said in a statement to USA TODAY.
The following week marked the 18th anniversary of Tim Russert’s death. His son spent Father’s Day weekend at a star-studded celebration June 18th at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
He posed for pictures with his father and fellow American icons Stevie Wonder and David Letterman. Russert’s baby is expected to be born in late July, but the gender is not yet known. His wife Laura prefers learning from birth.
“This is a new show and a new baby. I hope they both grow up healthy,” Russert said. He spent two full weeks hosting “The Weeknight.” His first child can be found at the MS NOW anchor desk.
