Inside Donald Trump's Upcoming Major TV Interview, First Since Being Elected President

United States (US) President-elect Donald Trump will Meet the Press in an exclusive television interview on National Broadcasting Company (NBC) this coming weekend, according to the American commercial broadcast television and radio network which announced this on Wednesday, December 4.

The sit-down will be Trump’s first media interview since winning the 2024 presidential election in November, earning a return to the White House after defeating outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris.

With his victory, Trump became the first candidate to win the presidency in two non-consecutive terms in more than 130 years, since Grover Cleveland did it in 1892. He defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016 but lost to outgoing president Joe Biden in 2020.

Trump, 78, also is the oldest man ever elected to the nation’s highest office, breaking the record held by Biden. He is set to be officially sworn into office as the 47th President on January 20, 2025.

Promo poster for Donald Trump's upcoming interview with NBC on December 8, 2024. /NBC

It will be his second sit-down interview with NBC‘s Kristen Welker, with the two having spoken before. Their September 2023 interview was Trump’s only network chat of its type during his 2024 campaign.

The interview will be recorded on Friday, December 6 and aired on Sunday, December 8 at 10:30 am in New York and Washington, D.C. (6:30 pm EAT).

During the presidential campaign, Trump largely avoided appearing on legacy networks outside of conservative-leaning outlets like FNC and Newsmax.

Instead, he and his advisors pursued opportunities on new and emerging media platforms. Trump sat for extended interviews with podcasters like Joe Rogan and Theo Von and also appeared alongside such social media influencers as Logan Paul and Adin Ross.

The notable exceptions were the two presidential debates. In June, Trump faced off against President Joe Biden on a CNN-hosted debate that re-defined the 2024 race, leading to Biden’s exit and Harris’ ascension to the top of the ticket. ABC News later hosted the sole Harris and Trump debate and came under fire from campaign surrogates after moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis fact-checked Trump live on-air.

In contrast to Trump, Harris made several legacy media stops during her campaign, appearing on all three major cable news networks; Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, as well as an election-themed edition of 60 Minutes that her rival withdrew from. In the new media realm, Harris was a guest on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast and was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey for a rally that streamed live on YouTube.

Since the election, more than a few Trump supporters suggested that the president-elect may continue to embrace emerging media platforms. During a recent appearance on Sean Hannity‘s FNC show recent, incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated that “different voices” may be heard during press briefings, with Elon Musk going so far as to suggest that X, formerly Twitter, is the new mainstream media.

However, Trump’s decision to appear on Meet the Press suggests that he still sees some incentive in sitting for a broadcast news interview. This presents a big task ahead for Welker, who celebrated her first anniversary as the show’s host in September.

The interview is likely to be watched keenly by millions worldwide, including those in Kenya, keen to hear what Trump has in store in terms of immigration policies, for instance; some of his proposals including a mass deportation of immigrants and the immigration policy that could lock out Kenyans seeking opportunities in America at a time when most superpower countries are imposing restrictions to cut down on the number of immigrants.

US President-elect, Donald Trump. /ASSOCIATED PRESS