All eyes are turning to NBC News White House correspondent Kristen Welker as she prepares to host the third and final presidential debate Thursday.
President Trump and Joe Biden will square off at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., in a 90-minute debate starting at 9 p.m.
Welker, 44, has been the White House correspondent at NBC News since 2011, after working as a news reporter in Rhode Island.
But Trump supporters who took issue with hard questioning by previous moderators like Chris Wallace and Savannah Guthrie may find themselves pining for those combative hosts after Welker is done with the president.
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Welker comes from an established Democratic family — who have poured cash into party coffers, and to Trump opponents, for years.
Her mother, Julie Welker, a prominent real estate broker in Philadelphia, and father, Harvey Welker, a consulting engineer, have donated tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates and close to $20,000 to Barack Obama alone.
There was also $3,300 for Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign and $2,100 for Hillary Clinton’s doomed 2016 presidential effort against Trump. Another $7,300 was contributed to the Democratic National Committee between 2004 and 2020.
In 2012, Welker and her family celebrated Christmas at the White House with the Obamas.
Though Kristen Welker’s party registration is not listed today, she was a registered Democrat in Washington, DC, in 2012 and in Rhode Island in 2004.
Throughout Welker’s tenure as a White House correspondent, she has earned a reputation for a scathing style of questioning.
“Mr. President, yes or no. … have you ever worked for Russia. Yes or no?” she demanded during a confrontation in January 2019.
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The treatment stands in stark contrast to her handling of Democratic politicos.
In March 2016 Welker was busted on live television tipping off Hillary Clinton’s Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri about at least one question she planned to ask her during a post-debate interview in Michigan. At the time Clinton was locked in a fierce fight for the Democratic nomination against Sen. Bernie Sanders.
“I’m going to ask you about Flint,” Welker said of the Michigan city’s infamous water crisis.
Welker deleted her Twitter account last week, heading off a more complete look at her past statements and views. It was later restored.
“Anyone who’s ever dealt with Welker knows she’s an activist, not a reporter. The White House press team views her the same way they would AOC or Pelosi if they walked in the office,” a senior White House official told The Post.
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