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.
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.”
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.
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 has not yet commented.
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 advisers that its authority “is narrow. The agency is prohibited by law from engaging in censorship or infringing on First Amendment rights of the press.” Any investigation is supposed to focus on claims that a news report “was deliberately intended to mislead viewers or listeners.”
The agency said 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.”
