President Donald Trump has turned to seeking punishment for those who tell the truth about his unpopularity, according to a new analysis from MS NOW.

In a piece published Monday morning, Steven Benen, a longtime MS NOW contributor and producer for host Rachel Maddow, examined Trump's recent demand that FCC Chair Brendan Carr investigate NBC and anchor Kristin Welker over comments she made about the president having a "mixed" endorsement record in the midterms so far. Trump accused the remark of being "purposeful inaccuracy" that ought to be investigated. Carr, a Republican commissioner since 2017, was elevated to the chairmanship by Trump at the start of the president's second term, and press-freedom groups have tracked a series of Trump demands targeting networks and stations since Carr took over the agency.

"How can anyone be allowed to say this, working for freely given Public Airwaves?" Trump posted to Truth Social on Friday. "Because of this purposeful inaccuracy, she will be reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment... The Press is a Disgrace to our Nation, and I hope that Chairman Brendan Carr, and the fine people of his Commission, will take this Threat to our Country very seriously."

Benen called Trump's demand "brazen nonsense," noting that Welker's comment came only "in passing during a live shot on NBC's local D.C. affiliate." He argued that the president's post "reflects an inherently authoritarian worldview — one in which media professionals are supposed to fear federal investigations for telling the public the truth." Under long-standing First Amendment doctrine, the FCC does not license broadcast networks such as NBC and its rules restrict content like obscenity and indecency rather than the accuracy of news commentary — a distinction critics of Trump's demand have repeatedly noted.

Benen also pointed to a follow-up Truth Social post Trump made on Sunday accusing the media of using "fake polls" — polls which happen to be the ones showing his approval and popularity faltering.

"The missive came five days after the Republican concocted a deeply weird conspiracy theory alleging that the national surveys conducted by major independent news organizations, universities and research institutions have been secretly being coordinated by Democratic officials, as part of a fiendish and undisclosed plot to make GOP voters feel discouraged," Benen wrote. "There are, according to the president's same pitch, a series of undisclosed polls that paint an entirely different picture about public attitudes, but that we're apparently not allowed to see for reasons Trump hasn't explained."

He concluded: "Time will tell whether Carr and his colleagues take the president's directives seriously, but let's not miss the forest for the trees: Confronted with data showing his broad unpopularity, Trump can either (a) change course; (b) accept the fact that his presidency lacks public support; or (c) pursue investigations into journalists and independent entities that have dared to present him with information he doesn't want to see or hear. The fact that he's choosing door No. 3 isn't surprising, but it does offer a timely reminder about his twisted perspective."