Treating the Federal Communications Commission as his personal enforcer, President Donald Trump said on social media Sunday that NBC’s Kristen Welker would be “reported to the FCC to be reprimanded or punished” for a television segment he didn’t like. In a separate post, Trump complained in all caps about “fake polls” and said “something needs to be done about it,” adding, “FCC to the rescue!” The posts were Trump’s most explicit efforts yet to order the FCC to carry out his wishes. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee and close ally, did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on the matter. Trump released a lengthy missive Sunday about what he described as mischaracterizations of his primary endorsement record. He wrote: “Kristen Welker, the unpopular ‘host’ of the once-great Meet the Press, now considered Meet the Fake Press, just claimed that Donald Trump has had ‘mixed results’ in his candidate endorsements, when the recent wins of Darline Graham and Mike Mazzei are 100% for the US Senate and 98% for the US House of Representatives, recently and in the long run. How can this be allowed But Carr has responded quickly to Trump’s requests to go after media organizations and has taken aggressive action against some licensees. FCC, particularly ABC, whose parent company, Disney, filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the commission earlier this month, Carr issued a threat to broadcasters over their coverage of the Iran war after the president filed a similar complaint on Truth Social In April, the FCC chairman launched an unusual challenge to ABC’s local station licenses, a day after Trump called for the firing of comedian Jimmy Kimmel. Carr justified the widely criticized action by citing his investigation into ABC’s practices. Disney diversity. Similarly, it has an open investigation into NBC’s parent company, Comcast, for what it has called “hateful forms of DEI discrimination.” Former FCC officials from both parties have criticized Carr for attempting to weaponize the agency and curb free speech. Trump, meanwhile, has praised Carr. On Sunday, Trump claimed that Welker will be “reported” to the FCC “because of this deliberate inaccuracy.” there is no option to object to a news report. Welker made the comment in question while appearing on the local NBC station in Washington, DC to promote “Meet the Press.” His observation about “mixed results” was supported by a recent NBC report, which noted that “six Trump-backed House and gubernatorial candidates lost their primaries” earlier this month. Other media outlets, including CNN, have also described Trump’s recent record of support as “mixed.” of the president that Welker’s reporting could have repercussions. The president has criticized Welker repeatedly in recent years, while also seeking his attention and giving him multiple interviews. Trump’s Sunday post focused on his anger over media coverage of his endorsement record. Trump concluded by complimenting the FCC appointees: “The press is an embarrassment to our nation, and I hope Chairman Brendan Carr and the fine people of his Commission take this threat to our country very seriously.” The topic also came up on Friday’s edition of HBO’s “Real Time,” when Bill Maher said he heard from the president after he said in his previous episode that “Trump used to win all his endorsements, now he wins almost none.” (HBO and CNN share the same parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.) nuances, but yes, I exaggerated it,” Maher said. “Now, stop texting.”
