A SUCCESSOR has been named for Lester Holt, who will be leaving NBC Nightly News after a decade anchoring the show.

Tom Llamas, currently an NBC News senior national correspondent, will fill Holt’s shoes beginning this summer.

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Tom Llamas will replace Lester Holt on NBC Nightly NewsCredit: Getty

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Holt announced he would be stepping down this summer after a decade as the anchor for NBC Nightly NewsCredit: Getty

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Llamas famously clashed with Trump who called the journalist a “sleaze”Credit: Getty
Llamas is known not just for his work on ABC and NBC but also for being called out by President Donald Trump during a contentious moment at a press conference eight years ago.

The journalist famously clashed heads with Donald Trump when asking about Trump’s donations to veterans groups in May 2016.

At the time, Llamas was working for ABC as the weekend anchor of ABC World News Tonight.

The journalist questioned the then-presidential candidate Trump on conflicting reports regarding money he raised during a televised event.

“What I don’t want is, when I raise millions of dollars, have people say – like this sleazy guy right over here from ABC; he’s a sleaze in my book,” Trump replied to Llamas’ question.

When the reporter asked why he was a sleaze, Trump fired back: “You’re a sleaze because you know the facts and you know the facts well.”

The insult clearly took Llamas by surprise when, later that day, he posted on X, “Trump just called me a ‘sleaze.’ Should be an interesting week.”

ABC was quick to defend Llamas when representatives for the channel told Deadline, “Tom is one of the best journalists in the country.”

“He is also one of the most respectful and respected.”

Fellow journalist Jorge Ramos told Llamas to “keep asking tough questions” and thanked him for standing up to Trump when he kicked Ramos out of a press conference.

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The journalist is the senior national correspondent and anchor of Top Story with Tom Llamas, which he will continue hosting when he takes over Holt’s position later this summer, NBC News reported.

“Tom has the winning combination of journalistic excellence, passionate storytelling and unyielding integrity — all characteristics that have long been trademarks of ‘NBC Nightly News,’”  NBC News executive vice president of programming Janelle Rodriguez said.

“Additionally, he’s been instrumental in growing NBC News NOW into the leading streaming news network, helping to introduce NBC News to a new generation of viewers.”

Llamas, who will be the first Latino journalist to host the nightly newscast, called the role “a profound honor.”

“I look forward to working with the world class journalists at ‘Nightly News’ and ‘Top Story’ to bring viewers the most important stories every night,” Llamas said in a statement.

Who is Tom Llamas?

NBC recently announced that Tom Llamas will take over Lester Holt’s hosting position on NBC Nightly News.

Tom Llamas is 45 years old from Miami, Florida
Llamas has three kids with his wife, Jennifer, who he married in 2006
He began his career as an intern at a local Telemundo station
After interning, he worked as an overnight production assistant at NBC news
Llamas worked his way up as a journalist at WTVJ and WNBC
He then worked for ABC News as the weekend anchor of ABC World News Tonight from 2014-2021
In 2021, Llamas joined NBC as the senior national correspondent and anchor of Top Story with Tom Llamas
He regularly fills in as an anchor for Nightly News and Today

Llamas’ new role comes after Lester Holt announced he would be stepping down from his role as the anchor and managing editor of Nightly News but would continue his full-time role as the anchor for Dateline.

Holt, who has been with the network since 2000, has high hopes for Llamas and the staff following his departure.

“I know you all will give him your 100% support as you make the transition,” Holt told staffers on the phone.

“Lester Holt is a great man and one of the most trusted broadcasters of our time,” Llamas said.

“Just like Lester, I promise to be devoted to our viewers and dedicated to the truth.”