Trump says Kristen Welker of 'Meet the Press' will be reported to FCC

President Donald Trump said "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker will be reported to the Federal Communications Commission over her coverage of his endorsements ahead of the midterm elections.

"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," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Aug. 30.

Trump added: "Because of this purposeful inaccuracy, she will be reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment. Unfortunately, she is not the only one."

NBC News told USA TODAY that "Kristen is one of the best in the business and we stand by her" in an Aug. 30 statement.

Trump does have a strong 2026 endorsement record , but some candidates he supported lost recent primaries.

In Wyoming, Megan Degenfelder, who leads the state's department of public instruction, lost a Republican primary for governor. Florida Rep. Cory Mills lost his reelection bid as did Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles, a controversial House member. In Minnesota, longtime Trump ally and MyPillow founder Mike Lindell also lost a GOP primary for governor.

Despite Trump's post, the FCC doesn't have much legal power to take action against Welker as an individual, but his comments escalate his criticism of the journalist.

In early June, Trump made headlines when he abruptly exited a "Meet the Press" interview with Welker after a tense back-and-forth, when the NBC anchor pushed back on the president's comments about California election security.

Trump's naming campaign from the Kennedy Center to Trump RX

From Lake America to buildings and institutions bearing Trump's name, see the places, landmarks and public spaces tied to the president's branding campaign. Pictured here, a map labeling Lake Ontario as " Lake America " is displayed as President Donald Trump signs an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as "Lake America" on Aug. 27, 2026, amid an ongoing trade war between the U.S. and Canada. See what Trump has renamed or attached his name to.

FCC has become increasingly political, critics say

The FCC licenses individual broadcast stations, not national networks such as NBC and ABC. The agency's website says both the First Amendment and Communications Act of 1934 prohibit it from censoring broadcast content and that its "role in overseeing program content is very limited."

Disney and ABC sued the agency over what they called an unconstitutional "retaliatory campaign" against the network in an Aug. 18 lawsuit.

Trump's endorsed candidates almost all won 2026 Republican primaries

Critics say the FCC has become increasingly political during Trump's second term under the leadership of Brendan Carr, who Trump referenced in the Truth Social post as he wrote that "The Press is a Disgrace to our Nation."

Though its website had previously described the FCC as an "independent U.S. government agency overseen by Congress," Carr said in a December Senate hearing that the FCC was "not an independent agency formally speaking" because of the president's power to fire commissioners . As of Aug. 30, the FCC website described it as a "U.S. government agency overseen by Congress."

(This story has been updated with new information.)