Margaret Brennan On Hosting Face The Nation, President Trump & 2020 Election

(CBS Local)-- 2018 was one of the craziest years of Margaret Brennan's life.

She became the host of Face The Nation, a new mother and found herself in the middle of one of the most action-packed presidencies in American history. Each Sunday morning, Brennan talks with the top newsmakers from around the country and has even been one of the few network news anchors to interview President Donald J. Trump. She is still trying to get the hang of balancing everything in her life.

"It was a hell of a year. I'm still balancing and I'm still juggling. I have so much more respect for working moms and working parents," said Brennan in an interview with CBS Local. "It is a constant juggling act and this is an intense job. I had a really intense period of time news-wise. I'm still figuring it out. I still have the excuse of talking to the smartest people out there to brief me."

The Sit-Down: Margaret Brennan by CBS Local News on YouTube

Brennan has a strong background in foreign affairs and the financial world based on her previous experiences with CBS News and CNBC. She recently got to use all of this knowledge in an extended interview with President Trump.

"I traveled with the president as a White House correspondent and I traveled with the previous president as well," said Brennan. "When you cover someone day in and day out, you start observing their habits or how and when they respond well. All of that was an education in sitting down with him. It had been a long time since the president sat down with a network anchor. I was pleased with how generous he was with his time. We got about 45 minutes and he was really engaged on a number of issues he doesn't really get to talk about."

With the 2020 election season right around the corner, things will continue to stay busy for Brennan. The host of Face The Nation is interested to see how both the American people and the people running against President Trump will define themselves in the coming months.

"On Face The Nation, we can have extended conversations with the president and senators and you need more than just a three minute segment," said Brennan. "Sifting through the spin is always the challenge. There was such interest that was spiked after the 2016 election and some people are little fatigued by the combat we've been in politically. I'm interested to see if people are going to be enthused and motivated like they were in the midterm races. I think there is a really important conversation about what we expect out of American presidents and what we expect out of ourselves these days."

Watch Brennan every Sunday morning on Face The Nation at 10:30am EST/PST on CBS.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.