Trump praises Welker at debate after earlier criticism

President Trump offered offhand praise of NBC News’s Kristen Welker during the final presidential debate Thursday, despite criticizing the moderator earlier in the day. 

As he accused former Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday night of wanting to ban fracking, Trump threw out a compliment to Welker, saying that he respected her handling of the debate. 

“By the way so far I respect very much the way you’re handling this, I have to say,” Trump said, before returning to his criticism of Biden.

President Trump to Kristen Welker: “So far, I respect very much the way you’re handling this.” #Debates2020 pic.twitter.com/p7dH8c1f5S

— The Hill (@thehill) October 23, 2020

The president’s remarks came hours after he delivered a scathing attack on the media, criticizing Leslie Stahl, the anchor of CBS’s “60 Minutes,” and insisting that Welker “is far worse.”

Trump and his campaign have criticized Welker repeatedly over the past week. At a rally in Wisconsin last week, Trump complained to supporters that the NBC News White House correspondent is “extremely unfair.” Earlier this week, he accused her of being a “radical Democrat.”

Trump has leaned into his grievances against the media in recent days. He posted a video of a “60 Minutes” interview he sat for with Stahl on Thursday, saying the clip would expose the “bias, hatred and rudeness” of the longtime broadcast journalist.