J.K. Trotter Revisits "The Rumor"

"What Happened Between Donald Trump, Tamron Hall, and NBC?"

As the election cycle winds down to its final week, opposition research is in full swing with old rumors and fresh revelations surfacing as last-minute efforts to sway public opinion. In a Substack article posted earlier today, J.K. Trotter—a seasoned investigative journalist and former deputy editor of investigations at Insider and Business Insider—delves into one such “old rumor” involving Donald Trump Jr., Tamron Hall, and NBC.

Trotter meticulously assembles “A Timeline of Facts,” stretching from 2002 to the present day, stating: “Below, I’ve gathered a timeline of relevant facts from public sources and my own reporting about Tamron Hall, Donald Trump, and NBC. I also reached out for on-the-record comments from all three subjects. You’ll find their responses—or lack thereof—at the end of the story.” He invites readers to reach out with any additional insights or corrections, keeping the door open to further discoveries in this unfolding narrative.

A Source in Media Remarked, “He obviously wrote it very carefully, probably with guidance from lawyers. Trump is famously litigious. But it’s just true that this rumor has been pervasive among a small group of Trump insiders for years. It’s one of those things that you just can’t publish at a mainstream media outlet without someone going on the record to say what they know, or without obtaining documentation that confirms what’s true. If Trump and Tamron both wanted this kept quiet and NBC was committed to protect them, a major newspaper would need a whistleblower to do what Trotter did.”

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Interview: Donald Trump Interviewed by Tamron Hall on MSNBC Live - February 9, 2016”

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“Eight years ago, in the spring of 2016, reporters in New York City began to hear whispers about a drama unfolding at the Midtown headquarters of NBC. Sources, colleagues, friends, and acquaintances: All of them had heard something about the relationship between Today Show co-host Tamron Hall and presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The Rumor Went Like This: In the latter half of 2015, NBC journalists unearthed evidence that Hall and Trump conducted an affair in the years before he declared his candidacy. Some of the evidence indicated that Hall became pregnant by Trump and later obtained an abortion. The whispers appeared to be leaking out of 30 Rockefeller Plaza because NBC officials were unsure of how to address the situation.

Eager to scoop a competitor on its own turf, reporters outside of NBC swarmed their sources within the network for information. But they struggled to find a path to publication. Important details were fuzzy or disputed, and sources’ knowledge was often third- or fourth-hand. The gravity of the allegation, and the visibility of its subjects, provided little margin for error. Any story would require nearly perfect sourcing. No news outlet published a single word about the rumor.

But there was, in fact, some truth to it. According to people familiar with the matter, NBC journalists did indeed investigate Hall and Trump’s relationship in the fall of 2015, and found evidence that supported the existence of an affair that led to Hall’s pregnancy and subsequent abortion. They had gathered this material as part of a larger reporting project about Trump’s past girlfriends. The evidence was compelling enough to continue investigating as Trump’s campaign gained steam.

However, nothing ever came of the reporting project. NBC never published a story about Trump’s ex-girlfriends or his relationship with Hall. And, less than two weeks after Trump’s inauguration, Hall abruptly left the network. These events created a mystery that has never been solved: What exactly happened between Trump, Hall, and NBC?

This is my attempt to answer this question. Below, I’ve assembled a timeline of relevant facts, gathered from public sources and my own reporting, about Tamron Hall, Donald Trump, and NBC. I also sought on-the-record comment from all three subjects. You can see what they said, or did not say, at the end of the story.

Finally: If you believe anything in this story is missing or incorrect, or wish to share any information with me, you can email me here.”

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Up Ahead: BTS at Madison Square Garden + Falconry in Upstate New York with Don & RFK Jr.