Trump Demands FCC Punish Journalist for Election Endorsement Comments

Trump Targets NBC Journalist

Former President Donald Trump publicly called for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to punish or rebuke NBC journalist Kristen Welker. Trump's demand stemmed from Welker's statement on "Meet the Press" that his election endorsements had yielded "mixed results."

Claims of "Purposeful Inaccuracy"

In a Truth Social post, Trump asserted that Welker's comment was a "purposeful inaccuracy." He cited recent wins by Darline Graham and Mike Mazzei, claiming a 100% success rate for U.S. Senate endorsements and 98% for U.S. House endorsements, both recently and long-term. Trump questioned how such statements could be made by someone working for "freely given Public Airwaves."

Pattern of FCC Appeals

This incident is part of a broader pattern where Trump has used social media to call for the FCC to intervene against news organizations and journalists he dislikes. Another post from Trump yesterday stated, "THE FAKE POLLS USED BY OUR CROOKED MEDIA ARE OUT OF CONTROL, AND SOMETHING MUST BE DONE ABOUT IT. FCC TO THE RESCUE!"

Criticism of Other Journalists

Trump also posted criticism of New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman, referring to her as "an unattractive person both inside and out" and suggesting she "should be forced to turn over any and all money that she’s made through her fake reporting on me." He repeatedly called her "Maggot Haberman" in his post.