NBC News campaign correspondents Hallie Jackson, Katy Tur, and Kristen Welker along with MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt are all in New York this week covering the Democratic and Republican candidates for president. So, just as it did in February after the New Hampshire primary, MSNBC gathered the so-called Road Warriors, for an hour-long discussion about the state of the race. The odd man out, MSNBC’s political correspondent Steve Kornacki also joined in.
TVNewser caught up with the young (all of the participants are in their 30s), upbeat and energetic group after the program.
Welker and Tur both claimed credit as the driving force behind the special, but they also gave a shout-out to NBC News chairman Andy Lack.
“Hallie was living in Los Angeles, I was living in London, Kristen was at The White House, and then suddenly we all hit the campaign trail,” Tur said. “NBC and MSNBC now has this team that they really just didn’t expect to have in place and they just went ahead and utilized it.”
“Honestly, we talk about these things all the time anyway,” added Welker. “This is our life, and these conversations really come naturally to us.”
The group also talked about some of the more bizarre experiences on the road. Tur recalled the Van Halen cover band who put on a lengthy performance at a Trump event in Iowa. They replaced “Jump” (the title of the famed Van Halen song) with “Trump” during the performance.
They all acknowledge the intensity and energy on the road, but also acknowledged that 2016 is offering something different. Hunt and Jackson admit they haven’t been able to go more than about four minutes without mentioning the name Donald Trump.
While there are no firm plans for another all-women, on-air get together, Jackson, Tur, Welker and Hunt are game.
“Even when you try to talk about other things, it always comes back to what each of us is experiencing on the road.” said Welker.
(Photo: via @frankthorp)