Behind the scenes of the 2020 election and the life of a television journalist episode artwork

EPISODE · Oct 2, 2025 · 27 MIN

Behind the scenes of the 2020 election and the life of a television journalist

from Decision Desk HQ Podcast · host Geoffrey Skelley and Chris Cillizza

NewsNation anchor and national correspondent Leland Vittert joined Geoffrey Skelley (Decision Desk HQ) and Chris Cillizza (author of the “So What” Substack) for a conversation about Vittert’s new book, Born Lucky: A Dedicated Father, A Grateful Son, And My Journey with Autism. The book recounts Vittert’s life growing up, how he made his way as a journalist, and his father’s pivotal role in helping Vittert acquire the tools to navigate the sometimes unforgiving world around him.To start, we discussed Vittert’s experiences surrounding the 2020 presidential election. Most notably, we examined the time he went viral over a combative interview with a spokesperson for President Donald Trump’s campaign, and the fallout from that encounter for his career at Fox News. We then delved into Vittert’s life growing up with what we now know is autism, his work as a journalist, and the important part his father played in getting him to this point.The book is now available! You can read more about it here. Leland Vittert is the host of On Balance with Leland Vittert and serves as NewsNation’s Chief Washington Anchor. A veteran journalist, Vittert joined NewsNation in May 2021, where he has been pivotal in covering national affairs and delivering special reports across the network’s primetime weeknight newscasts. Before joining NewsNation, Vittert worked for Fox News from 2010 to 2021, starting as a foreign correspondent based in Jerusalem and later anchor and correspondent in Washington.Subscribe below and get DDHQ’s election coverage in your inbox, including The Bellwether newsletter and our polling memo! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decisiondeskhq.substack.com

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Behind the scenes of the 2020 election and the life of a television journalist

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