Former President Donald Trump has called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to punish NBC's "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker over her comments about his record in endorsing primary candidates. Trump claims that Welker made purposeful inaccuracies, citing two instances where his endorsed candidates won with high success rates. According to Trump, Welker will be reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment due to her alleged inaccuracy. The FCC's own guidelines suggest that taking action against Welker would be a stretch, as they prohibit censorship and infringement on press freedom.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Trump calls on FCC to punish ‘Meet the Press’ moderator Kristen Welker
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Trump → call → Welker
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Click here to listen to this article -
President Trump lashed out Sunday at NBC’s “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker, calling on the Federal Communications Commission to punish her over comments she made about the president’s record in endorsing primary candidates.
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she → click → candidates
“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 on Truth Social.
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Trump → consider → Social
Trump actually endorsed Mazzei in the Oklahoma governor’s race, not a congressional seat.
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Trump → endorse → race
“How can anyone be allowed to say this, working for freely given Public Airwaves?” Trump added.
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Trump → allow → Airwaves
“Because of this purposeful inaccuracy, she will be reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment.”
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she → report → rebuke
Welker was previewing Sunday’s edition of “Meet the Press” on NBC’s Washington station WRC when she made the remarks about Trump’s endorsements.
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she → preview → endorsements
“He’s going to loom large over these midterms,” Welker said.
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Welker → go → midterms
He, of course, has endorsed a slate of candidates in the primaries.
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He → endorse → 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.
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she → have → Carolina
In a statement, NBC News expressed its support for Welker.
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News → express → Welker
“Kristen is one of the best in the business and we stand by her,” a representative said in a statement.
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representative → stand → statement
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has shown a willingness to use his agency’s levers to go after broadcast media outlets Trump deems unfriendly.
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Trump → show → outlets
In April, he called for an early review of the TV station licenses held by ABC, claiming the company’s diversity and inclusion policies are in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws.
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policies → call → laws
Chris Hansen walked out of a screening of A24’s “Primetime” rather than sign an NDA.
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Hansen → walk → NDA
Now he’s buying ads before the Robert Pattinson film, in theaters Sept. 25.
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he → buy → theaters
ABC has filed a lawsuit against the FCC to block the review, saying it was motivated by Trump’s animus toward the late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.
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it → file → host
Going after Welker for an anodyne analysis that did not match the president’s perception of his endorsement results would be a stretch, according to the FCC’s own guidelines.
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that → go → guidelines
“The FCC’s authority to take action on complaints about the accuracy or bias of news networks, stations, reporters or commentators in how they cover — or sometimes opt to not cover — events is narrow,” according to the FCC website.
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they → take → website
“The agency is prohibited by law from engaging in censorship or infringing on First Amendment rights of the press.”
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agency → prohibit → press
Anna Gomez, the lone Democratic member of the FCC, said Trump’s comments are dangerous and also demonstrate a fundamental lack of understanding of the agency’s role.
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comments → say → role
“As I’ve said many times, the FCC has no authority to punish journalists this administration doesn’t like,” Gomez wrote on the social platform X.
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Gomez → say → platform
They undermine the foundation of our democracy, and they have no place in it.”
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they → undermine → it
On Friday, Bill Maher did a lengthy segment on his show “Real Time,” apologizing to the president for having said “almost none” of his endorsed candidates are winning their primaries.
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none → do → primaries
Maher noted that out of 260 candidates endorsed by Trump, only nine have lost.
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nine → note → Trump
Maher noted that many of those candidates were heavy favorites to win but agreed that his statement was not accurate.
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statement → note → candidates
Maher also gave a strong indication that Trump had texted him to express his unhappiness over his comments.
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Trump → give → comments
But “Real Time” is on cable and streaming where the FCC has no say on programming content.
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FCC → have → content
The agency regulates broadcast channels that are delivered over the public airwaves.
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that → regulate → airwaves
