Democratic FCC Commissioner Calls Trump’s ‘Rebuke’ of Kristen Welker ‘Dangerous’ to Democracy

AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, AP Photo/Rod Lamkey

Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez called President Donald Trump’s Truth Social demand to punish NBC News’s Kristen Welker for saying something he didn’t like, “dangerous” for democracy.

Trump became enraged with Welker after a promo clip of her aired on Washington, D.C.’s, local NBC affiliate, where she noted Trump’s recent endorsement losses — and wins.

Trump wrote Sunday:

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. How can anyone be allowed to say this, working for freely given Public Airwaves? Results are attached. Because of this purposeful inaccuracy, she will be reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment.

In response to the president’s tantrum, Gomez wrote on X, “As I’ve said many times, the FCC has no authority to punish journalists this administration doesn’t like. These threats to press freedom are dangerous. They undermine the foundation of our democracy, and they have no place in it.”

The exact comment from Welker that raised Trump’s ire was as follows:

He’s going to loom large over these midterms. There’s no doubt about that. He, of course, has endorsed a slate of candidates in the 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.

In a statement provided to Mediaite, an NBC News spokesperson said, “Kristen is one of the best in the business and we stand by her.”

Gomez has long repudiated FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and his Republican colleague Olivia Trusty for bolstering Trump’s attacks on the free press.

Earlier this week, Gomez said she was “glad” that ABC “stepped up” to sue Carr and her agency for using the FCC to punish the network for comments made by comedian Jimmy Kimmel, as well as the daytime talk show The View for hosting Democratic guests.

“I have long called on companies to push back against this kind of government intimidation, and I’m glad Disney has shown courage and stepped up,” Gomez told MeidasTouch’s Scott MacFarlane.

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