Donald Trump went off on NBC News‘ Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker on Sunday, vowing to report her to the FCC for “rebuke or punishment,” even as the agency is defending itself in a lawsuit brought by ABC alleging regulatory retaliation.
The issue: A comment Welker made about the president’s endorsement record.
On Truth Social on Sunday, Trump posted, “Kristen Welker, the Unpopular ‘Hostess’ of the once great Meet the Press, now considered Meet the Fake Press, just stated that Donald Trump has ‘mixed results’ on his Endorsements of Candidates, when the recent WINS of Darline Graham and Mike Mazzei, stand at 100% for the U.S. Senate, and 98% for the U.S. House, recently and over the longterm. How can anyone be allowed to say this, working for freely given Public Airwaves? Results are attached. Because of this purposeful inaccuracy, she will be reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment. Unfortunately, she is not the only one. The Radical Left News is going out of their way to harass, demean, and libel anything ‘TRUMP.’ Their new weapon is to say that my 99% SUCCESS Rate on Endorsements, 100% on Senatorial Endorsements (Many of whom were not even given a shot of winning until I Endorsed!), is either a mixed result, or not very good. In actuality, it is, without question, the strongest Endorsement in the History of Politics.”
Welker made the comment in an appearance on local Washington, D.C. affiliate WRC-TV on Sunday, not on Meet the Press itself, and said of Trump, “He’s going to loom large over these midterms. There’s no doubt about that. He, of course, has endorsed a slate of candidates in the primaries. He’s had some mixed results, but most recently, his pick of Senator Darline Graham, of course, the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, was successful in her primary battle, so now she takes on Dr. Annie Andrews in South Carolina.”
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If there is a complaint filed, NBC likely would have a simple defense: What Welker said happens to be true. She wasn’t saying that he has a dismal record of endorsements, or even that a majority of his candidates have lost, only that there have been “some mixed results.”
While Graham won the South Carolina primary last week, some other high profile figures who won endorsements from Trump have recently lost their races. They include Mike Lindell, who lost the GOP primary for Minnesota governor to Lisa Demuth, and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN), who lost in his reelection bid to primary challenger Charlie Hatcher. Earlier, Rep. Randy Feenstra lost the GOP primary for Iowa governor to Zach Lahn, and Burt Jones lost the Republican primary for Georgia governor to Rick Jackson.
ABC sued the FCC earlier this month on First Amendment grounds, alleging that some of its regulatory actions are retaliation by the Trump administration over its news reporting and other content. Among other things, the FCC under Chairman Brendan Carr has ordered the network’s eight owned stations to submit its broadcast licenses for early renewal. As part of the lawsuit, the network’s legal team cited Trump’s Truth Social and other threats to use to FCC to punish broadcasters.
The FCC said in response, “All broadcasters have a legal obligation to operate in the public interest—even Disney. The FCC has been examining claims that Disney engaged in illegal DEI discrimination for over a year.” A judge will hear arguments in October on the network’s request for a temporary restraining order to halt the FCC’s early license renewal order.
Trump added in his Truth Social post, “The Press is a Disgrace to our Nation, and I hope that Chairman Brendan Carr, and the fine people of his Commission, will take this Threat to our Country very seriously. Thank you for your attention to this very important matter of Fake Polls and Commentary!”
NBC News said in a comment, “Kristen is one of the best in the business and we stand by her.”
An FCC spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment. Anna Gomez, the sole Democrat on the commission, said, “As I’ve said many times, the FCC has no authority to punish journalists this administration doesn’t like. These threats to press freedom are dangerous. They undermine the foundation of our democracy, and they have no place in it.”
Trump also lashed out at polling. He posted on Truth Social, “THE FAKE POLLS USED BY OUR CROOKED MEDIA ARE OUT OF CONTROL, AND SOMETHING MUST BE DONE ABOUT IT. FCC TO THE RESCUE! President DJT”
The FCC has a news distortion policy, but advises that its authority “is narrow.”
“The agency is prohibited by law from engaging in censorship or infringing on First Amendment rights of the press.” the FCC states on its website. Any investigation is supposed to focus on claims that a news report “was deliberately intended to mislead viewers or listeners.”
The agency says in its guidance, “The FCC does not investigate claims of collateral inaccuracy in news reports or differences of opinion over the truth or validity of aspects of a news program.”
10 Comments
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Anonymous
Let’s see how Trump endorsements do in the mid terms. Of course, wherever GOP candidates lose…Trump will cry foul and try to overturn the election votes. If things stay the same, no matter how much Trump complains and no matter how many lawsuits he files…he cannot avoid going down in history as a big time LOSER.
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Anonymous
Malignant Narcissistic Sociopath.
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Anonymous
I’m telling on you!
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Anonymous
If you dare tell the truth about the President he will sue you & try to suspend your broadcast license. This is what our country has come to. The part that is even more scary is that number of cowards and sycophants that will agree with him & try to further this insane propaganda. I have absolutely no idea how we will ever get our country back to some form of normalcy with our morals & ethics intact.
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Anonymous
Based Trump.