President Donald Trump's raging threat against "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker Sunday morning spurred a dark debate about whether he was more hilarious than terrifying or more terrifying than hilarious.
Trump's critics divided themselves into these two camps after Trump attacked Welker for reporting on the failing power of his endorsement and vowed to report her to the Federal Communications Commission for "punishment."
CNN media analyst Brian Stelter took a dour tone, writing "Trump is getting more explicit about weaponizing the FCC...ABC is already in court fighting the FCC's unprecedented actions; it's reasonable to think NBC will be targeted next."
But the Atlantic staff writer Tom Nichols laughed it off in his X analysis, writing "Cognitively impaired, emotionally unstable, elderly man yells at TVs in the White House."
Nichols was joined in ridicule by humorist Paul Rudnick, who predicted Trump would respond by forcing an aide commonly described as his human "binkie" to perform hits from the musical "Grease."
"He's demanding that Natalie Harp appear on all news programs waving a gun at the camera and singing 'Hopelessly Devoted' to a large photo of Trump," Rudnick quipped.
Laurence Boorstein threaded the needle of humor and despair.
"It is abuse of power for Donald Trump to be threatening Kristen Welker," he wrote. "Why doesn't the low IQ old fart just STFU."
Culture editor at The Bulwark Sonny Bunch appeared, in a dark way, pleased the president had made his views public, as it served as a reminder that "Trump is an enemy of free speech and would happily use the power of the state to silence his critics."
Political commentator Brian Krassenstein agreed, writing, "these are the things that Hitler would do."
His fellow political commentator Jim Stewartson characterized Trump's comment as a "bout of narcissistic rage."
"He has no ability to recognize that he’s confessing to crimes, or that this might in any way backfire," Stewartson wrote. "He is psychotic—not as a pejorative, as a real description of his mental state."
Even conservatives expressed disdain.
"Trump is correct that polling is broken," Fox News columnist David Marcus commented. "But the answer isn’t the FCC, it’s just to ignore them."
The national radio show Armstrong and Getty, which purports to be "at war with Woke," told Trump the threat was "horrible" and urged him to "STOP IT."