Andrea Mitchell

Some Lesser Known Facts About Andrea Mitchell

• Andrea Mitchell grew up in a Jewish family.

• Her father worked in a furniture-making business in Manhattan and partly owned it.

• He also served as president of Beth El Synagogue in New Rochelle for 40 years.

• Her mother was an administrator at the New York Institute of Technology in Manhattan.

• In the 1970s, her brother Arthur and his wife, Nancy, moved to British Columbia.

• Arthur became a citizen of both the U.S. and Canada. In the 2000s, he became a member of the Yukon Legislative Assembly and led the Yukon Liberal Party.

• When she was studying at Penn, Andrea Mitchell was appointed as the news director of the student radio station WXPN.

• After completing her graduation, she stayed in Philadelphia and started working as a reporter at KYW radio.

• Andrea Mitchell became well-known as the City Hall reporter during Mayor Frank Rizzo’s time.

• From 1967 to 1976, she worked as a broadcast journalist for KYW Radio and KYW-TV in Philadelphia.

  

• In 1976, she moved to WTOP (now WUSA), a CBS-affiliated station in Washington, D.C.

• Andrea Mitchell joined NBC News in 1978 as a general correspondent in Washington, D.C.

• In 1979, she was promoted to the position of energy correspondent at NBC News. During this period, she covered the late-1970s energy crisis and the Three Mile Island nuclear accident.

• From 1981 to 1988, Andrea Mitchell first covered the White House for NBC News during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. She reported on arms control, the budget, tax reform, and the Iran-Contra scandal.

• She travelled with President Reagan to summits with Mikhail Gorbachev and other world leaders.

• Andrea Mitchell appeared as a regular political analyst on TODAY and a panellist in the second Bush-Dukakis presidential debate in 1988.

  

• During the 1988 Republican National Convention, she was the first to report that George Bush had chosen Dan Quayle as his contesting companion.

• From 1988 to 1992, Andrea Mitchell was NBC’s chief congressional correspondent. She covered major topics like the budget, the savings and loan bailout, and the Clarence Thomas hearings.

• In 1992, she was appointed as chief White House correspondent of NBC News after covering Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign from the New Hampshire primary onward.

• From 1993 to 1994, Andrea Mitchell worked as the chief White House correspondent.

• She began working as a chief foreign affairs correspondent in November 1994.

• As a foreign affairs correspondent, Andrea Mitchell covered exclusive reports from North Korea, Afghanistan, the Middle East, Bosnia, Kosovo, Pakistan, and Haiti.

• During the 2000 election, she played a key role in NBC News’ coverage.

• Andrea Mitchell was the lead NBC correspondent, who covered Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaign that year.

  

• In 2002 and 2003, she covered the United Nations debate before the Iraq War.

• Andrea Mitchell reported in detail on the issues covering pre-war intelligence and weapons of mass destruction.

• A Washington Post report in September 2003 claimed that she had leaked Valerie Plame’s identity. Following this, she was questioned by the FBI.

• In October 2003, Andrea Mitchell said at the Capitol that many journalists covering intelligence knew about the search for the envoy to Niger.

• However, she said that she did not know Plame’s exact role at the CIA. She also claimed that she was undercover until Bob Novak reported it.

• Andrea Mitchell has reported on U.S.-Cuba relations for decades.

• She has conducted several exclusive interviews with Cuban President Fidel Castro.

• In December 2003, a one-hour documentary on the country was made due to her entry to Cuba.

  

• In 2004, Andrea Mitchell became a featured political correspondent.

• She was the first reporter to announce that John Kerry had picked John Edwards as his contesting partner for vice president.

• In July 2005, during a press conference in Khartoum, Andrea Mitchell was forced out of the room after questioning Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

• She asked him why the violence in Darfur continued, why the government supported militias, and why Americans should trust his promises.

• After the incident, Andrea Mitchell said that the reporters have the right to ask questions, and stopping them from doing so was unacceptable.

• Reportedly, Sudanese officials were hesitant to allow American reporters in the press pool.

• Sean McCormack from the U.S. State Department told Sudanese officials that while he could relay their concerns, the U.S. has a free press. A Sudanese official responded,
  

  There is no freedom of the press here.”

• In September 2005, Andrea Mitchell published Talking Back, a biography about her experiences, which covered five presidents, Congress, and foreign policy.

  

• From 2008 to 2025, she hosted the show Andrea Mitchell Reports on the news channel MSNBC.

• She covered the 2008 presidential campaign, reporting live from all major primary elections, regions, and candidate debates for NBC News and MSNBC shows.

• Andrea Mitchell also travelled with Barack Obama during his campaign. She covered his visits to Iraq, the Middle East, and Europe.

• On 5 June 2008, during an MSNBC appearance, she called voters in southwest Virginia ‘rednecks.’

• On 9 June 2008, she apologized on air. She said that she had repeated a term used by Democratic strategists without explanation.

• Andrea Mitchell admitted that it was a ‘stupid’ comment and apologized to the people of Bristol, Virginia.

• She added that there were no excuses and that she was sorry.

• On 7 September 2011, she shared that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer a few weeks earlier. The cancer was caught early and treated.

• During the 2012 election, Andrea Mitchell covered the Republican nomination campaign and key congressional campaigns on election night.

• In 2012, a video clip of presidential candidate Mitt Romney being impressed by a touchscreen at a Wawa store made Andrea and her contributor Chris Cillizza laugh about it on the news show Andrea Mitchell Reports.

• They compared it to a common belief that George H. W. Bush was unaware of the everyday affairs in 1992.

• Andrea Mitchell suggested that this time Romney was out of touch with daily affairs. She commented,
  

  I get the feeling that Mitt Romney has not been in too many Wawas along the roadside of Pennsylvania.”

• The full clip showed that Romney was comparing Wawa’s touchscreen efficiency to the slow process of changing an address with a government form.

• The next day after the episode was telecasted, Mitchell briefly replied to the complaints from the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Romney’s campaign.

• Andrea Mitchell explained the full clip and said that the RNC and the campaign pointed out that Romney had also talked about government bureaucracy and private-sector innovation.

• In July 2015, she went to Vienna to cover the Iran Talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif.

  

• In February 2019, Andrea Mitchell claimed that the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was against ‘the Polish and Nazi regimes.’ She later apologized on Twitter for the mistake.

• The Polish Institute of National Remembrance sued her in Polish court for claiming that Poland was involved in the Holocaust.

• In November 2019, Andrea Mitchell organised the fifth Democratic presidential debate at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. MSNBC and The Washington Post hosted the event.

• She is an emeritus trustee and Chair Emeritus of the SAS Board of Overseers.

• She is also a member of the Gridiron Club.

• On 7 February 2025, Andrea Mitchell left NBC News.

• However, it was announced that she would continue working as NBC News’ chief Washington correspondent and chief foreign affairs correspondent.