Lester Holt appeared to be enjoying his chat with Belinda Jensen and Jimmy Jam Saturday morning in the KARE-11 warming tent on Nicollet Mall. But he admitted afterwards that he had hoped to be spending at least part of the weekend interviewing President Trump.
"I'm a little disappointed," the NBC anchor said after appearing on the KARE morning show. "We all know it's tradition for the president to speak to the network who has the Super Bowl, but we also recognize that President Trump doesn't follow tradition and that's certainly his right. For whatever reason, it didn't come together. We always welcome the opportunity to speak to the president and hopefully the timing will be better in the weeks and months ahead."
In between broadcasting the "NBC Nightly News" from Minneapolis Friday and Saturday evening, Holt had hoped to take in some sights, but he ended up having his first dinner in town at the hotel bar.
"So typical," he said. "The life of a reporter."
But Holt has experienced enough of the Twin Cities during his 48-hour visit to learn about Minnesota Nice.
"I had never heard that term before," he said. "But I was struck by it soon after we landed. It's not small talk. People really want to know where you ate, if you've been here before. New York can be very impersonal. This is a very personal town."
Holt will end up watching the Super Bowl back in New York so he can start the re-packing process; he heads to South Korea for the Olympics on Wednesday.