NBC Backs Kristen Welker After Trump's FCC Threat

NBC is publicly backing Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker after President Trump vowed on social media to report her to federal regulators, USA Today reports. Trump blasted Welker for saying he's had "some mixed results" with his 2026 primary endorsements. In response, the POTUS claimed she would be reported to the FCC for "rebuke or punishment." NBC called Welker "one of the best in the business" and said the network stood by her, while FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, a Biden appointee (and the only Democrat commissioner, Forbes notes), pointed out that the agency "has no authority to punish journalists this administration doesn't like," warning such threats endanger press freedom.

The FCC notes it licenses stations, not individual journalists, and is largely barred from policing content. The clash follows Trump's June walkout from a Welker interview and comes as other journalists, including MS Now's Peter Alexander, rally to her defense. As the Hill points out, Welker wasn't factually wrong; some Trump-endorsed candidates have indeed lost their primaries.