The moderator for the second and final debate between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden has deep ties to the Democratic Party.
NBC News White House correspondent Kristen Welker’s family has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates, including $20,000 to former President Barack Obama and Biden’s 2020 campaign, according to a report from the New York Post.
In 2012, Welker and her family attended the Obama administration’s White House Christmas party.


In March 2016, Welker was seen on live television signaling to Hillary Clinton’s communications director Jennifer Palmieri what question she was going to ask while believing she wasn’t yet on the air.
Welker was a registered Democrat in Washington, DC, and Rhode Island in 2012 and 2004 respectively, according to The New York Post. Currently, her registration is no longer listed.
“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 said to the New York Post about Welker.
“Yikes!” Donald Trump Jr. posted on Twitter in response to the news. “Here we go again.”

An NBC spokesperson said Welker also attended President Trump’s White House Christmas party with her husband in 2017, the last year his administration held one. The spokesperson also highlighted comments made by Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller, saying Welker is “very fair in her approach” and “a good choice for the third debate.”
Earlier this year, President Trump congratulated Welker when she was named co-anchor of NBC’s weekend Today show, saying NBC “made a very wise decision.”
Many conservatives joined in on the president’s expressed frustration with Fox News’s Chris Wallace, the moderator at the first debate, for his interruptions and perceived hostility to the president on debate night.
Supporters of the president were also unhappy with Savannah Guthrie’s performance on NBC during a town hall event this week as she consistently sparred with the president over various issues.