WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 (DC Times Online) — President Donald Trump said Aug. 30 that he would report NBC journalist Kristen Welker to the Federal Communications Commission for what he called “purposeful inaccuracy” in her description of the results of his political endorsements.
Trump said Welker should face “rebuke or punishment” and urged FCC Chair Brendan Carr and other commissioners to take the matter seriously. He objected to Welker’s reported description of the endorsement results as “mixed.”
The remarks at issue were made during a pre-show live segment on WRC-TV, NBC’s Washington, D.C., affiliate, rather than during the broadcast of Meet the Press, according to an account from CNN’s Brian Stelter and a transcript cited in coverage.
What did Trump claim?
In a post on Truth Social, Trump cited the reported wins of South Carolina candidate Darline Graham and Oklahoma candidate Mike Mazzei. He said his endorsements produced a 100% success rate for U.S. Senate candidates and a 98% rate for U.S. House candidates.
Those percentages are Trump’s figures. The information available for this report does not include an independent election-results dataset, a list of all candidates he endorsed or the method used to calculate the totals.
Trump wrote that Welker’s statement was inaccurate and asked why someone working for “freely given Public Airwaves” could make such a claim. He also criticized the news media generally.
What has NBC said?
An NBC spokesperson defended Welker and said: “Kristen is one of the best in the business and we stand by her.”
The distinction between the pre-show segment and Meet the Press matters because reports initially described the comment as part of the Sunday program. The available transcript and broadcast accounts identified WRC-TV’s live segment as the setting for the “mixed” characterization.
Can the FCC punish a journalist for an alleged inaccurate report?
FCC guidance says the agency does not investigate alleged inaccuracies in news reports or disagreements over the truth or validity of parts of a news program.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez was also reported as saying that the agency “has no authority to punish journalists this administration doesn’t like.”
The FCC guidance does not show that a complaint from Trump has been filed or that the agency has opened a proceeding. The available information also does not show that the commission has taken action in response to his post.
Trump’s statement names Carr, but the research available for this report does not include a direct response from Carr or an official FCC announcement about the matter.
