Peter Alexander has announced he is leaving Saturday Today after nearly 22 years with NBC News.
Alexander, 49, first joined the network in 2004 with a focus on international stories, including the 2005 Iraq election and the death of al-Qaeda’s Osama bin Laden. After stints covering sports and the White House for the station, he was appointed co-anchor of the Saturday edition of Today in 2018, replacing Craig Melvin.
Addressing viewers on Saturday’s segment, Alexander revealed he was stepping down from his role to spend more time with family.
“This morning I am bursting with pride and with gratitude. I’ve had the most incredible experience over 22 years with NBC News,” he said.
“It is literally so fun, I mean, what a gig!” he quipped. “But, because I live in Washington [D.C.], it’s also a trek. I’ve been away from my home more than 80 nights in the last seven months, [and] more than 200 Friday nights away from my family in the last seven years.”
Alexander has two daughters — Ava, 12, and Emma, 10 — with his wife, Alison Starling, whom he married in 2012.
“So, in this limited window before my daughters lose interest in hanging out with me [and] it’s already happened quick, I’m eager to carve out a better balance between my personal and professional lives,” he added. “[I want] to challenge myself with something new. I’m excited because I was taught, ‘Family first, the rest is details.’”
Thanking audiences for “your trust and your confidence,” he praised his time with NBC as “undoubtedly the most exciting years” of his career.
Holding back tears, his co-host, Laura Jarrett, said: “Peter, we love you, we are going to miss you. We have laughed so hard we want to cry with you, we have learned from you and we are not the only ones.
“You are a brilliant journalist. You are a good and decent man, and you are an extraordinary father. You only get one shot to be Ava and Emma’s dad [and] 200 nights is a long time. They are lucky to have you as their father.”
Alexander tearfully responded: “It’s hard to believe, but I have been part of the NBC family for longer than I’ve had my own family. Studio 1A, being right here, with this team and with all the folks you don’t see on TV, this is literally my happy place.”
During his time as the channel’s White House correspondent, Alexander became known for angering President Donald Trump in 2020 with a question about the Covid-19 pandemic.
“What do you say to Americans who are watching you right now who are scared?” Alexander asked, with Trump retorting: “I say that you’re a terrible reporter!”
In 2025, Trump once again labeled him a “terrible reporter” when pressed by Alexander about the White House’s acceptance of a Qatari jet to be used as Air Force One during a bilateral Oval Office meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“What are you talking about? You ought to get out of here. What does this have to do with a Qatari jet?” Trump huffed. “You are a terrible reporter. Number one, you don’t have what it takes to be a reporter. You are not smart enough.”
