Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr has shared some menacing words for Kristen Welker.
Trump’s FCC nominee appeared on Fox News’ Sunday Briefing, and was asked about the president’s public meltdown about Welker following last week’s Meet the Press.
“He said he was going to report Kristen Welker to the FCC for rebuke or punishment. You are the FCC, have you received this report?” host Pete Doocy asked.
Carr, 47, didn’t offer a clear “yes” or “no” answer regarding the status of the report, but did suggest that some “actions” might be taken against Welker and her colleagues.
“Well, one thing that President Trump gets fundamentally, is that broadcast TV is completely different from other forms of distribution, including cable,” he said.
“And so many broadcasters right now, they want to break the deal that they cut with the American people.”
Carr accused: “They get billions of dollars in taxpayer—effectively-subsidized—distribution, and what they’re supposed to do in exchange is operate in the public interest, not some sort of narrow, partisan interest.”
Suggesting that some changes could be expected, Carr shared: “I think President Trump is over the target, and we’re looking at a lot of actions.”
The lawyer also hinted that airing MAGA-unfriendly statistics could face consequences, with Trump suffering from historically low poll numbers in the lead-up to the midterms.
“For instance, there’s a lot of interest right now in fake polls that are out there, and so the FCC may put guidance out soon to remind broadcasters about their obligations with respect to not airing fake polls,” he said. “Particularly if they’re done to suppress people heading into the fall.”
Trump called out NBC’s Welker on August 30, immediately after the host touched on Trump’s spotty endorsement history on that morning’s Meet the Press.
On Truth Social, he raged: “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 long term. How can anyone be allowed to say this, working for freely given Public Airwaves?
“Because of this purposeful inaccuracy, she will be reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment.”
Later in the long rant, Trump widened his net and suggested that any media he took umbrage with would be quickly snitched on.
“The Press is a Disgrace to our Nation, and I hope that Chairman Brendan Carr, and the fine people of his Commission, will take this Threat to our Country very seriously,” he wrote.
