Savannah Guthrie said her 'crazy uncle' comment to Donald Trump at the election town hall 'just came out'

• Savannah Guthrie garnered attention and praise for her unwavering demeanor during her town hall interview with President Donald Trump in October.
• In a New York Times feature published on Saturday, Guthrie reflected on the now-viral comment she made while challenging Trump about retweeting baseless conspiracy theories.
• "You're the president — you're not, like, someone's crazy uncle who can just retweet whatever," Guthrie said during the town hall.
• The NBC News anchor and "Today" host told the Times that the "crazy uncle" analogy was something that "just came out."

NBC News and "Today" host Savannah Guthrie notably challenged President Donald Trump during a televised town hall in October ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Guthrie pointed out to Trump that in days leading up to the town hall, he had retweeted two posts that promoted a baseless conspiracy theory that claimed Osama bin Laden's death was a hoax, and about now-President-elect Joe Biden's involvement in bin Laden's death.

"Why would you send a lie like that to your followers?" Guthrie asked Trump during the town hall.

"I know nothing about it," Trump responded to Guthrie. "That was a retweet, that was an opinion of somebody. I'll put it out there, people can decide for themselves, I don't take a position."

"I don't get that," Guthrie said. "You're the president — you're not, like, someone's crazy uncle who can just retweet whatever."

The anchor's challenge to Trump later sparked a parody on "Saturday Night Live" starring Alec Baldwin as the president, and Kate McKinnon, who borrowed Guthrie's actual magenta suit for the sketch. During the skit, McKinnon had described herself — playing Guthrie — as a "surprise badass."

Guthrie told the New York Times that the 'crazy uncle' phrase was something that 'just came out'

In a feature for the New York Times that was published on Saturday, Guthrie told journalist Sridhar Pappu that she was not expecting to make the now-viral "crazy uncle" analogy during the town hall.

"I'm shocked at myself," Guthrie told Pappu. "I don't even know if it's a good thing that I said it. That just came out."

Guthrie is widely known for her role as a host of the network's morning show "Today" and she garnered attention and praise for her unwavering demeanor during the town hall interview with Trump. The anchor said that her questions for Trump "were actually really simple."

Pappu described Guthrie as planning to be a "bolder name" on NBC as President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office.

Hoda Kotb, Guthrie's "Today" co-host, told the Times that Guthrie is more than her role on the morning show.

"When people see you on morning shows, they see you not only doing the tough stuff but also doing the fun stuff that we do and maybe that overshadows that," Kotb said. "I think some people forget that's who she is."

Read the full story from the New York Times here.

• Read more:
• The life of Savannah Guthrie: How a local-news anchor quit journalism only to become one of the biggest morning-show stars on Earth
• Leslie Jones kept fans entertained throughout election week with her critiques of cable news contributors' at-home backgrounds
• 'Saturday Night Live' parodied Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' victory and imagined a musical Trump concession speech