President Donald Trump took to social media early Sunday morning to attack NBC anchor Kristen Welker over remarks about his endorsement record, threatening to report her to federal regulators for comments that did not actually air on Meet the Press.
Instead, Welker made the remarks during a 6 a.m. ET appearance on local affiliate NBC4 Washington while promoting Sunday’s national broadcast. In that brief preview, Welker cited NBC News reporting to note that while several Trump-backed contenders have succeeded, his primary endorsements have seen a few defeats.
“He’s going to loom large over these midterms,” Welker said during the broadcast. “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.”
That remark prompted an immediate reaction from Trump on his Truth Social platform, where he directed his frustration at Welker’s flagship Sunday public affairs program.
“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,” Trump wrote. “How can anyone be allowed to say this, working for freely given Public Airwaves?”
Trump asserted that Welker’s characterization was intentionally misleading and stated that he plans to refer the matter to the Federal Communications Commission.
“Because of this purposeful inaccuracy, she will be reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment,” Trump wrote. “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.”
Trump described his political endorsement as “without question, the strongest Endorsement in the History of Politics.” He added that Graham’s primary campaign was “the biggest story in all of Politics” and argued that major news outlets largely ignored her victory, along with past wins by other candidates he supported, including a previous gubernatorial race in Oklahoma.
Closing his message, Trump called directly on FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr to intervene.
“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 wrote. “Thank you for your attention to this very important matter of Fake Polls and Commentary!”
NBC News rejected Trump’s criticisms on Sunday, defending the anchor and her reporting.
“Kristen is one of the best in the business, and we stand by her,” an NBC News spokesperson said.
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