Trump abruptly ended an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press after a heated exchange with moderator Kristen Welker over his continued claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.
During the interview, taped in Wisconsin and aired Sunday, Welker repeatedly pushed Trump to provide evidence supporting his allegations of widespread election fraud. Trump insisted that evidence existed but did not offer specific proof . Welker responded that there was no verified evidence supporting claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
As the exchange grew more tense, Trump criticized Welker, NBC, and other major news organizations, accusing them of bias. He then declared, “Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough,” before removing his microphone and walking off the set, ending the interview early.
“As I understand it, the weaponization fund was going to set up a group of people, people that could be picked by anybody, fair people, smart people, and they will go on an individual case basis,” Trump said. “Now I don’t know what’s going to happen with the weaponization fund. I love the idea because people like you — the fake dirty press, the crooked press, people like stupid Biden, he’s not smart enough to know what’s going on — but people that surrounded him, surrounded his beautiful resolute desk in the Oval Office, what they did to the lives of people, they destroyed people. They sent people to jail who did nothing wrong.”
The confrontation marked one of the most contentious moments of Trump’s recent media appearances and underscored his continued efforts to promote election-fraud claims that courts, election officials, and multiple investigations have repeatedly failed to substantiate.