On Sunday morning, the "Meet the Press" moderator was doing an interview on local affiliate NBC 4 in Washington, D.C., when she characterized President Donald Trump's endorsement record as "mixed."
"He, of course, has endorsed a slate of candidates in the primaries," she said. "He's had some mixed results, but most recently, his pick of Senator Darline Graham was successful."
That prompted a quick response from the president, who wrote on social media that his record "stands at 100% for the U.S. Senate, and 98% for the U.S. House."
"Because of this purposeful inaccuracy, [Welker] will be reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment," he said.
This was not their first contentious interaction this year. In early June, Trump ended an interview with Welker after she challenged his claims about elections and Jan. 6.
In the courtroom, Trump won a defamation lawsuit in 2024 against ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos, who falsely stated the president had been found liable for rape.
Last month, ABC and its parent company, The Walt Disney Company, sued the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), accusing the Trump administration of waging an unconstitutional "retaliatory campaign" against the network for its programs like "The View" and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.
The lawsuit points to regulatory pressure, investigations and an order forcing ABC to apply early to renew broadcast licenses for eight of its local television stations to support its argument that the FCC violated its First Amendment rights.
Nick Fondacaro, associate editor for MRC NewsBusters, warns that this threat could be ammunition for ABC in that lawsuit.
"I do kind of fear that this call by Trump for something to like the—quote, unquote—'rebuke' or 'punishment' with Welker might actually hurt the ABC case a little bit," he tells AFN.
Noting that the term "mixed" is imprecise, Fondacaro says the Kristen Welker issue is less serious; it is basically a single round of comments from one journalist rather than an entire network.
Regardless, he says Chairman Brendan Carr will have to decide whether the FCC will do anything with this complaint.
