Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr shared that the regulatory agency is responding to President Trump’s call for NBC journalist Kristen Welker to be met with “rebuke or punishment. The president has alleged that Welker’s reporting that he had a “mixed record” for endorsements this election cycle was done with “purposeful inaccuracy.”
In an appearance on “The Sunday Briefing” on Fox News, the Trump-appointed Carr was asked about the president’s threat against Welker. Carr responded by suggesting that broadcast news channels could face consequences if the agency interprets their reporting to not serve the public, citing “fake polls” designed to “suppress” voters as a potential risk.
“President Trump is over the target. We’re looking at a lot of actions,” Carr said, responding to host Peter Doocy. “There’s a lot of interest right now in fake polls that are out there. The FCC may put guidance out soon to remind broadcasters about their obligations with effect to not airing fake polls, particularly if they’re done to suppress people heading into the fall.”
Carr said: “One thing that President Trump gets, fundamentally, is that broadcast TV is completely different than other forms of distribution, including cable. So many broadcasters right now, they want to break the deal that they cut with the American people. They get billions of dollars in taxpayer (money) — effectively subsidize distribution. What they’re supposed to do in exchange is operate in the public interest, not some sort of narrow partisan interest.”
Last week, Welker reported on the “mixed record” of Trump-endorsed candidates in the year’s primary elections, saying on a local affiliate 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.”
Trump lashed out at Welker through a post on his social media platform Truth Social shortly after, writing: “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 … 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.”
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While the Trump-endorsed Graham and Mazzei each won GOP nominations for their respective Senate races, other candidates with the president’s backing have suffered losses this primary season, including Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), former My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell in Minnesota and Amir Hassan in Michigan.
Trump’s push to turn the FCC towards NBC comes as the federal agency fields the ABC lawsuit, which claims the president’s administration has “waged a retaliatory campaign” against the network over its broadcasts. The suit, filed Aug. 18, further seeks to block the FCC “from taking or threatening to take any action” against Disney, ABC and its eight owned-and-operated television stations in connection with early license renewal applications.
A representative for NBC News declined to comment. When asked to comment on Trump’s initial threat last week, a company spokesperson wrote that “Kristen is one of the best in the business and we stand by her.
