Media watchdog to NBC’s Holt, Welker: Shut up at GOP debate

A conservative media watchdog this week urged NBC anchors Lester Holt and Kristen Welker to check their bias at the door of the Republican presidential debate they are hosting next week.

In a letter to the nightly news anchor and host of Meet the Press, Media Research Center Founder Brent Bozell offered advice that Republican voters don’t want to hear their views and want the debate focused on conservative issues.

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“Most moderators from ‘traditional’ media outlets try to score points against Republican candidates, as if they were your adversaries. This kind of approach might provide laughs and earn slaps on the back at your New York dinner parties, but it does nothing to help Republican voters select their nominee,” he wrote.

“Voters don’t want to hear from you. They want to hear from those with the courage to put their names on the ballot to fight for America. Just get out of the way and give democracy a chance,” he added.

In addition to Holt and Welker, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt is also on the journalist panel set to question the candidates. Bozell did not add Hewitt to his letter.

Several conservative influencers are upset that the network was given hosting duties, raising concerns that the anchors will focus on liberal issues GOP primary and caucus voters don’t care about.

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Bozell offered this advice:

“Focus on the issues Republican voters care about, not the ones you prioritize. This should be the easiest principle to follow, but it is the one that debate moderators always fail. So let me make it very simple: Republican primary voters care about securing our borders and helping Israel save itself from the barbarian hordes, fixing our economy and out-of-control inflation, eliminating waste from the federal budget and restoring the role of parents in their children’s education, protecting the life of every human being while also addressing the national crime wave, and growing the economy and our national security to reduce the threat from communist China. Sticking to these issues and challenging the candidates to address them would be a great start.”

He added:

“This might be the most important advice I have for you: exercise every ounce of self discipline you can muster to resist the habit of functioning like a Democrat political operative. It is not your job to coax Republicans to vote for Joe Biden in the general election or to cajole Democrats to stay faithful to their party.”