U.S. President Donald Trump on the 30th sharply criticized an NBC anchor who described the primary success rate of Republican midterm candidates he endorsed as "mixed results."
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump targeted Kristen Welker, host of NBC's "Meet the Press," saying the once-excellent program now deserves to be called "Meet the Fake Press." He argued that Welker was failing to properly assess the primary performance of candidates he had endorsed.
Trump pushed back with specific figures. Citing Lindsey Graham, who won the Republican Senate primary in South Carolina, and Mike Mazzei, who advanced through the Oklahoma gubernatorial primary, he said his endorsed candidates had a 100% success rate in Senate primaries and 98% in House primaries. Both Graham and Mazzei secured their spots in the general election in primaries held on the 25th with Trump's backing.
"Meet the Press" is NBC's flagship political affairs program, and Trump has long labeled the network "fake news" over its critical coverage of him. He has sat for several interviews with Welker, a longtime White House correspondent, during his second term, but ended a third interview on June 7 midway through after a heated exchange over allegations of fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump's remarks are seen as reflecting frustration that the media has not properly highlighted the fact that most of the candidates he endorsed did in fact win their primaries. "How can a person who broadcasts for free on the public airwaves say something like this?" he said, warning that such deliberate distortion would be referred to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for appropriate action.
He added that he hoped FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and other fine commissioners would take this national threat seriously, stressing that manipulated polls put out by dishonest media outlets were already out of control and that corresponding measures must follow.
