NBC’s Matt Lauer is facing critics Thursday for his performance as the host of the network’s presidential forum on foreign policy. Observers say he failed to push back against Donald Trump when he said he did not support the war in Iraq, which he did. Lauer also didn’t follow up when Trump said things that required a little more explaining: like how, in response to Lauer’s question about whether Trump’s rhetoric could destabilize foreign relations and put American lives at risk, Trump responded: “I think if you saw what happened in Mexico the other day, when I went there, I had great relationships, everything else. I let them know where the United States stands… And if you look at what happened, look at the aftermath today where the people that arranged the trip in Mexico have been forced out of government. That’s how well we did.” Without pushing back, Lauer moved on. But he did spend a full third of Hillary Clinton’s portion of the forum pushing back on her use of a private email server during her time as Secretary of State. Was Lauer inappropriately tough on Clinton and easy on Trump?
Matt Lauer faces critics after NBC’s presidential forum
Credits
Guest:
- James Poniewozik - chief television critic for the New York Times - @poniewozik