MS NOW host Peter Alexander on Monday went to bat for his old NBC colleague Kristen Welker after President Donald Trump attacked her for doing her job in a social media meltdown over the weekend.
“The work still matters, the truth is still the truth and you deserve to know it, whether a president likes it or not,” said Alexander in a segment on his MS NOW program “State of Play.”
Trump targeted Welker just hours after she appeared on NBC’s D.C. affiliate to preview Sunday’s episode of “Meet the Press,” noting to the local anchors that the president has seen “some mixed results” when it comes how GOP candidates he backs perform in their races this midterms cycle.
Trump accused the “Meet the Press” host of “purposeful inaccuracy” in her local news hit, arguing that recent GOP primary wins by Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) and Oklahoma’s Republican gubernatorial nominee Mike Mazzei — among other victories — prove his record is not so “mixed.” (Note: Welker referred to Graham’s win during her appearance on the D.C. network.)
He then threatened to report her to the Federal Communications Commission, marking his latest attack against the press in his second term.
Alexander, who described his former colleague of 15-plus years as one of the “hardest-working and best-sourced reporters around,” declared that Trump’s “rage-posting” shows he’s “furious over the facts.”
The MS NOW host pointed to reporting by Trump’s favorite network, Fox News, which highlighted how the president “keeps winning Republican primaries” but his endorsements of gubernatorial candidates “reveal cracks in his record.”
“Trump didn’t threaten Fox News for reporting on high-profile defeats, their words not mine, because it’s true,” said Alexander, noting that six Trump-endorsed candidates have lost thus far in August.
He later continued, “What should be more concerning is the president threatening to use the levers of government to crack down on reporting that he does not like.”