For better or worse, Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie turned heads in October when she faced President Donald Trump during NBC’s Town Hall.
During the telecast, which notoriously aired the same time as Joe Biden’s town hall on ABC, Guthrie turned the town hall into an interview with the president, peppering him with questions about his COVID-19 strategy, his tweets and more. However, upon speaking with Trump about his social media posts, the host made a comment that now surprises her.
“You’re not like somebody’s crazy uncle and can just retweet whatever,” Guthrie said in October, after Trump noted that he himself isn’t creating the conspiracy theories about Biden, but rather sharing them via Twitter’s “retweet” function.
In an interview with the New York Times, published Saturday, Guthrie reflected on the comment.
“I’m shocked at myself. I don’t even know if it’s a good thing that I said it,” she said. “That just came out.”
Her interview with Trump garnered a number of mixed reactions, including excitement and disappointment. After the town hall wrapped up, Fox News’ Sean Hannity said that “NBC News fake news did their best to ambush” the president, adding that Trump “pretty much debated Savannah Guthrie.”
In the Times article, Guthrie further explained her sense of obligation when it comes to speaking with high profile figures including Trump, President-elect Biden and Hillary Clinton.
“Believe it or not, I don’t like confrontation,” told Guthrie the Times. “In fact, I kind of would like to avoid it. But I also don’t like talking points. I believe that the viewers expect us to ask the questions.”