After covering 9 Olympic games, top NBC host Lester Holt reveals why America needs the Olympics right now

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February 12, 2018 6:32 PM

NBC anchor Lester Holt continued his run of Olympic coverage with reporting at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games, his ninth opportunity to cover the games.

NBC Nightly News anchor
Holt says the games transcend politics and bring people together.

NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt continued his run of Olympic coverage with reporting at thePyeongchang Winter Olympic Games last week, his ninth opportunity to cover the games.

Holt, who began covering The Olympics at the

I've been in Olympics when the US was in conflict in the middle east, and there is something about the Olympics that kind of transcends politics," Holt told Business Insider. "Frankly one of the reasons I look forward to it is it gives us a little bit of a break, not that we don't cover politics, but it gives us a chance to focus on something that is truly unifying."

The ability for the Olympics to bring people together seems important, especially at a time when American politics is more divided than ever.

Still, the games aren't completely devoid of politics. Over the weekend there was political intrigue surrounding Vice President Mike Pence and

solidarity with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

And American figure skater Adam Rippon, who is the first openly gay athlete on the US Winter Olympics team, vocally turned down a meeting with Pence, criticizing his record on

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