Media and legal experts believe President Donald Trump‘s recent calling on the Federal Communications Commission to punish “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker regarding her coverage of his campaign endorsements ahead of the crucial midterm elections would be inconsistent with the law.
Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Aug. 30 that the NBC anchor “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.
“Because of this purposeful inaccuracy, she will be reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment. Unfortunately, she is not the only one,” the president added.
Trump endorsees have a 95.7% Republican primary win rate when his endorsements in state and local races such as governor are included, according a USA TODAY review of data collected by Ballotpedia, an elections “encyclopedia.”
Trump endorsements powered winners such as Wisconsin GOP gubernatorial nominee Rep. Tom Tiffany and Michigan Republican candidate for governor John James, but he also backed losing gubernatorial candidates such as Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and MyPillow founder Mike Lindell in Minnesota.
Johanna Dunaway, a political science professor at Syracuse University, told USA TODAY on Aug. 31 that Trump’s chances for reprimanding Welker to the FCC are unlikely.
“I just don’t see how they can, at least in good faith. Several other outlets made similar statements about his endorsements and recent upsets in primaries,” said Dunaway, also a research director for the Institute for Democracy, Journalism & Citizenship in Washington DC. “President Trump’s post references ‘purposeful inaccuracy’ in an apparent attempt to suggest her comment meets the standard for libel, but characterizing his record on recent endorsements as ‘mixed’ is neither inaccurate nor malicious.”
The FCC did not immediately return USA TODAY’s request for comment.
Trump’s stated intent to report Welker to the FCC comes after Disney and ABC sued the agency on Aug. 18. The network argued that the Trump administration is attempting to censor journalists by urging the agency to conduct an early review of the news outlet’s broadcasting licenses.
This isn’t the first time Trump has been angry at Welker. The president abruptly walked away from a recorded interview with Welker in Wisconsin in June and called her either “crooked or stupid” after she challenged his comments about California election security.
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