'Sorry, Mr President': Bernie Sanders responds to Trump's threat against NBC journalist

WASHINGTON, DC: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders on Sunday, August 30, invoked the First Amendment while rebuking President Donald Trump for threatening NBC News journalist Kristen Welker over her reporting.

Sanders said Trump was trying to punish a journalist who reported on his mixed endorsement record this election cycle.

Trump threatened to refer Welker to the Federal Communications Commission for what he called a “purposeful inaccuracy” in her reporting.

Bernie Sanders turns threat into First Amendment fight

“Trump, like all authoritarians, wants to silence those who disagree with him,” Sanders wrote on X on Sunday. “Now he's trying to punish an NBC journalist for reporting on his mixed endorsement record.”

Sanders then broadened his response beyond Welker and Trump’s dispute over the president’s endorsements, writing, “Sorry, Mr President. In America, we believe in democracy and the First Amendment.”

He ended the post with “FIGHT BACK,” making the First Amendment the central argument of his response to Trump’s threat against Welker.

Trump had written that Welker “will be reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment” after she reported that his endorsed candidates have had mixed results this cycle. 

Several Trump-backed candidates had lost their primary races, including Rep Cory Mills in Florida and Amir Hassan in Michigan.

Trump also pointed to a recent South Carolina primary victory by Darline Graham Nordone, sister of the late Sen Lindsey Graham, as evidence that his endorsements remain powerful.

Trump expands attack to polls

The president’s second Truth Social post broadened his target beyond NBC and Welker, turning toward polling companies that he accused of producing unfavorable results.

“THE FAKE POLLS USED BY OUR CROOKED MEDIA ARE OUT OF CONTROL, AND SOMETHING MUST BE DONE ABOUT IT. FCC TO THE RESCUE!” Trump wrote.

Trump has also argued that his political endorsements can determine election outcomes. During his South Carolina campaign for Graham Nordone, he urged voters to “Pretend I’m on the ballot.”

“I see it all the time, that when Trump’s on the ballot, they win,” Trump said in a Fox News interview. “I’m asking the people … to get out and vote. Pretend I’m on the ballot.”

FCC threat follows earlier Kristen Welker clash

Trump’s dispute with Welker predates Sunday’s threat. 

He previously stormed out of an interview with the ‘Meet the Press’ moderator in June after she challenged his claims about the 2020 election.

Welker later told viewers that Trump had agreed to another interview and blamed rain for “complications” during the previous sit-down. 

The FCC has also faced controversy over its actions involving media companies. 

FCC Chair Brendan Carr denied that the commission’s review of ABC’s license was connected to Trump’s calls to fire Jimmy Kimmel.

ABC and its parent company Disney sued the FCC over the license review, calling it a pressure campaign intended to change ABC’s programming.

CBS, meanwhile, canceled Stephen Colbert’s late-night show after Colbert criticized his network’s settlement with Trump over an unfavorable ‘60 Minutes’ interview while the network’s parent company was seeking FCC approval for a merger.