Welker, who moderated the final 2020 presidential debate between then President Donald Trump and Joe Biden, works in a pressurized environment, grappling with political spin, and competing with others to break stories affecting the country and provide context to people watching at home. 

“It’s very intense. It requires a lot of research and talking to a lot of different people here in Washington both inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue but more importantly outside to get different perspectives,” Welker told a crowd at SOC’s Doyle Forman Theater on October 19. 

Welker and fellow White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins of CNN shared stories, successes, and challenges from covering the president. Antoine Sanfuentes, CAS/BA ’90, CNN vice president and managing editor and SOC distinguished guest lecturer, moderated the conversation and provided insight as a current editor for Collins and previously for Welker when he worked at NBC News.

Here’s some of their observations to the AU community. 

Kaitlin Collins, CNN 

“Luckily, we had four years of (President) Trump to prepare us. You didn't go into one briefing unprepared with Trump in office, because he would have moments where he would try to push back or make you look like you didn't know what you were talking about to chip away your credibility. My number one goal was to never let that happen, so I read anything and everything and studied really hard.” 

Kristen Welker, NBC News 

“We're all driving towards the same thing which is to hold our elected officials to account to get information to the American people. ...Your job is to just maintain your composure. It's not personal. It's not emotional. It's your job to ask questions, and the best response is to not engage. You want to always stick to the core principles of journalism.”  

Antoine Sanfuentes, CNN and SOC  

“It helps to work for news organizations that have a real sense of mission. My old boss Tim Russert upheld that. Rick Davis for so long at CNN upheld the same core principles about holding our leaders accountable and demanding transparency. You know they'll browbeat you. They'll do whatever it takes to undermine your credibility, but it doesn't take away from your core mission of demanding all those things.” 

To read more about the event, read SOC's recap.