President Donald Trump stepped up his attacks against the media on Sunday with an admonition to the Federal Communications Commission to investigate polling used by news outlets and punish a prominent television news host.
Trump has long had an adversarial relationship with journalists and news organizations who publish stories he doesn’t like, particularly those about his standing in the polls. Numerous recent polls show Trump has the lowest approval rating of either of his terms in office as the unpopular Iran war continues and gas prices remain high.
Trump has increasingly used his animosity toward the press to seek action by the FCC, which controls broadcast licensing.
The First Amendment to the US Constitution explicitly protects freedom of the press and freedom of speech.
Trump complained Sunday that something must be done about “fake polls” used by the news media. “FCC TO THE RESCUE!” he trumpeted in a social media post. Polls are often sponsored by television networks or news organizations, but conducted by universities or polling companies over which the FCC has no control. The FCC also has no control over cable stations or print media.
In the same series of Sunday morning posts, the president also lashed out at Kristen Welker, the moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press, for saying his endorsements of Republican candidates in primary elections this year had shown mixed results. Earlier in the week, he attacked New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman for reporting that he was skipping the annual Sept. 11 commemoration in New York this year because he wouldn’t have a speaking role.
“How can anyone be allowed to say this, working for freely given Public Airwaves?” Trump said of Welker’s reporting. “Because of this purposeful inaccuracy, she will be reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment.”
Short of canceling NBC’s broadcast license, there’s little the Trump administration can legally do to punish Welker for her reporting.
“Kristen is one of the best in the business and we stand by her,” an NBC spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
A handful of the candidates that Trump endorsed this year did not win their primaries or special elections. Some of his prominent endorsements, including the special election to elevate Darline Graham to replace her late brother, Lindsey Graham, in the Senate, did win.
Trump urged the chairman of the FCC to follow up on his complaints.
“I hope that Chairman Brendan Carr, and the fine people of his Commission, will take this Threat to our Country very seriously,” Trump wrote.