During a sit-down interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump told moderator Kristen Welker, in a startling moment, that she has “such potential” as a journalist.
The former president had repeated an unfoundedallegation that the House select committee responsible for investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol had “deleted and destroyed” a year and a half’s worth of testimony and evidence.
“I think those people committed a major crime,” Trump said at one point during his wide-ranging conversation with Welker. He added that members of the committee, such as former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who served as vice chair, should “go to jail.”
When Welker pointed out to Trump that members of the committee have denied that claim, the former president halted the conversation to take a direct shot at the host.
“You know, you have such potential,” he said to Welker. “If you could be just nonbiased — you hurt yourself so badly.” (Watch the full interview here.)
Trump has a history of insulting prominent Black female journalists. In July, he accused ABC News senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott, who is Black, of asking a question in a “horrible manner” during a contentious Q&A session at the National Association of Black Journalists convention.
Trump has also previously leveled disparaging remarks at Welker, who is also Black. He repeatedly criticized her, calling her “terrible and unfair,” days before she moderated his final presidential debate with Joe Biden in 2020. Welker ― an Emmy-winning veteran journalist who previously served as NBC News’ chief White House correspondent ― is the first Black journalist and the second woman ever to host “Meet the Press.”
There were plenty of takeaways from Welker’s sit-down with Trump, his first network TV interview since his reelection last month. But etiquette experts think there’s a lot to be said in particular about his choice to discuss Welker’s “potential.”
Kristen Welker moderates the final presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden on Oct. 22, 2020. JIM BOURG via Getty Images
Was Trump’s remark about Welker’s ‘potential’ a tactic?
Jackie Vernon-Thompson, founder and CEO of the From the Inside-Out School of Etiquette, said that she believes Trump’s comment was a “blatant tactic” meant to “devalue” Welker in order to gain control and power in the interview.
“Over the years, many have witnessed Mr. Trump’s strategies of power play,” she told HuffPost. “This was indeed a tactic.”
Vernon-Thompsonalsonoted that Trump has a history of speaking to women in a way that “may seem misogynistic,” and that this exchange with Welker was no different.
Welker, 48, is “a seasoned journalist, well-established, and very talented in the industry,” Vernon-Thompson said, adding that people may sometimes try to instill doubt in others in order to “control the conversation and environment.”
“That was Mr. Trump’s attempt,” she said. “Clearly, it did not work because he was indeed speaking with someone who holds her own.”
Jodi Smith, an etiquette consultant who specializes in social and professional conduct, said that Trump’s comment to Welker was strategic in two ways: It was an attempt to regain power, and an attempt to cause a distraction.
“It was a backhanded ‘compliment’ designed to distract from the real topic and divert the conversational focus away to an irrelevant dialogue undermining the journalist’s credentials,” Smith, the president and owner of Mannersmith, told HuffPost.
She also said it’s important to analyze power dynamics in any exchange, and that Trump’s remark to Welker ― given that he is a white, cisgendered Christian male in America, where all of those identifiers carry systemic privilege ― could be seen as a “dog-whistle telling the target, and anyone listening, that they are not conforming to their designated role.”
Is it ever appropriate to tell a woman in a professional setting that she has ‘potential’?
Smith explained that one’s tone of voice, and the context in which the comment is said, is key.
A mentor speaking to a mentee in a feedback situation can be very “positive,” she said ― while pointing out that Trump’s comment to Welker, a “seasoned, award-winning professional,” decidedly did not occur in such a context.
Vernon-Thompson thinks people should be “very cautious” when using the word “potential” in that manner in professional environments. To tell a woman she has “potential” in the workplace could be “patronizing” or potentially show a “lack of respect,” she said.
“There is a time and place for that,” Vernon-Thompson said. “Publicly is definitely not the place. In the midst of a debate or an aggressive discussion is most certainly not appropriate.”
She pointed out that speaking of a person’s “potential” may be appropriate in conversations between a superior and their subordinate, when it’s made “in kindness with the intent to motivate and show them that their superior sees and believes in their potential and ability.”
What should you do if you’re the target of a similar remark about your ‘potential’?
For starters, Smith said, you should realize that the person who made the comment has “shown you their cards.”
“They feel threatened by you in some way. It is a ‘tell,’” she said, recommending that you document your exchanges with that person.
“Include others when meeting with this person,” she said. “If it is not your manager, loop your manager into the situation. If it is your manager, speak with human resources.”
Vernon-Thompson recommends that you maintain your “composure, confidence and self-respect.” (Not unlike Welker herself, who continued talking with Trump about the Jan. 6 committee without missing a beat after his remark about her “potential.”)
“Maintain your posture. Keep [your] head up. Maintain eye contact,” Vernon-Thompson said. “Immediately identify the attempt mentally and move forward with strength and certainty.”
“Start strong, end strong,” she added. “Because you are good enough.”