Veteran journalist Roger Mudd tapes a segment for the History Channel at CBS studios in New York on Aug. 6, 2001.Marty Lederhandler/The Associated Press
Roger Mudd, the long-time CBS News political correspondent whose 1979 interview with Edward Kennedy is credited with helping derail the Democratic senator’s presidential campaign, has died at age 93, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
Mudd, who covered politics and national affairs for CBS for two decades before working at NBC News, PBS and the History Channel, died at his home in McLean, Virginia, of complications from kidney failure, the Post reported, citing his son.
Mudd was best known for his 1979 interview with Kennedy as the prominent liberal lawmaker prepared to announce his bid to challenge Democratic President Jimmy Carter for their party’s 1980 presidential nomination.
The interview, in which Kennedy appeared awkward and unsure of his reasons for seeking the presidency under Mudd’s tough questioning, was later seen as pivotal in dooming the senator’s presidential prospects. Carter defeated Kennedy for the nomination before losing the general election to Republican Ronald Reagan.
“Rest In Peace Roger Mudd. A broadcast JOURNALIST in the true sense of the word,” Tom Fitzgerald, an anchor and reporter on Fox 5 DC, said on Twitter.
“With one simple question ‘Why do you want to be President?’ He derailed Ted Kennedy’s 1980 campaign. These are important times we are living in. We need to follow his example now more than ever.”
Mudd, who was born in Washington, D.C., began his career in the 1950s as a newspaper and radio reporter in Richmond, Virginia.
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