Trump Threatens FCC Action Against NBC’s Kristen Welker Over Endorsement Coverage

President Donald Trump criticized NBC journalist Kristen Welker on Sunday, threatening to refer her to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for “rebuke or punishment” regarding her coverage of his candidate endorsements.

In a Truth Social post, Trump quoted Welker, calling her the “Unpopular ‘Hostess’ of the once great Meet the Press, now considered Meet the Fake Press,” for stating he had “mixed results” on his endorsements. He highlighted the recent 100% success rate of his Senate picks, Darline Graham and Mike Mazzei, and 98% for the House, questioning how she could make such claims while utilizing publicly funded airwaves.

This response followed Welker’s comments to a local NBC affiliate, where she noted that Trump would “loom large” over the upcoming midterm elections despite having “mixed results” with his primary endorsements, though his pick of Senator Darline Graham was successful.

An anonymous NBC spokesperson defended Welker to AFP, describing her as “one of the best in the business.”

Throughout his tenure, Trump has consistently criticized the US media, frequently decrying “fake news” and pursuing legal action against various outlets.

Since returning to the White House, the FCC has intensified pressure on media companies, drawing criticism from several organizations.

However, the FCC’s own regulations state that it “cannot prevent the broadcast of any particular point of view,” making the potential action against Welker unclear.

Democrat Anna Gomez, an FCC commissioner, wrote on X that the agency “has no authority to punish journalists this administration doesn’t like,” adding that such threats to press freedom are “dangerous” and “undermine the foundation of our democracy.”

Despite these warnings, Trump expressed hope that “Chairman Brendan Carr, and the fine people of his Commission, will take this Threat to our Country very seriously.”

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