WASHINGTON — President Trump sharply attacked “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker on Sunday after she questioned the strength of his endorsement record, arguing that the NBC journalist should face scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission.
Welker described Trump’s influence in Republican primaries this cycle as producing “mixed results,” a characterization that drew an immediate backlash from the president. In a Truth Social post, Trump disputed the assessment and called on FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr to treat what he labeled a “Threat to our Country very seriously.”
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Unfortunately, she is not the only one.”
NBC News operates a group of local broadcast stations that rely on licenses issued by the FCC.
Those licenses are granted by the federal government because the public broadcast spectrum is limited.
Carr has previously signaled a willingness to intensify pressure on broadcast networks he believes demonstrate political bias.
The Trump administration has also taken aim at ABC News in the past, a move that prompted litigation.
According to Ballotpedia, Trump has issued roughly 313 endorsements and has recorded a 96% success rate, though many of those races were primaries with little serious competition.
But even in highly competitive races, Trump’s endorsement usually proved to be critical, such as the Texas, Louisiana, and South Carolina Senate races.
Still, Trump had multiple notable setbacks, including his endorsement of retiring scandal-plagued Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), Amir Hassan in Michigan, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), Randy Feenstra in Iowa, Burt Jones in Georgia, Mike Lindell in Minnesota, and more.
Trump noted that he had a 100% success rate in GOP Senate primaries and 98% success rate in House GOP primaries. He contended that many of the candidates he backed “were not even given a shot of winning until I Endorsed.”
He pointed to his backing of Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) in her primary runoff last week and Mike Mazzei’s victory in the Oklahoma GOP gubernatorial primary.
“The Radical Left News is going out of their way to harass, demean, and libel anything ‘TRUMP,’” the president fumed. “…In actuality, it is, without question, the strongest Endorsement in the History of Politics.”
“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,” Trump concluded. “Thank you for your attention to this very important matter of Fake Polls and Commentary.”
Trump previously lashed out at comedian Bill Maher in private text messages for trashing his endorsement record, prompting an on-air acknowledgment from the “Real Time” host that the president was right.
The Post contacted NBC News for comment.
