President Donald Trump stormed out of a Meet the Press interview on Friday and insulted moderator Kristen Welker, and the NBC show’s viewers saw it all play out on when the interview aired on Sunday morning.
Talking with Welker at a farm in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, Trump “made a series of false, misleading or exaggerated comments,” NBC News reported in a fact-checking article.
Once again, Trump made claims of election rigging in the United States.
“The [2020 presidential] election was rigged. It was a dirty election. And it’s happening again right now in California,” he said, referencing California’s recent primary elections. “It’s four days, and they aren’t even close to coming up with the — do you know why they’re doing that? Because they’re cheating on the election.”
When Welker urged Trump to offer evidence to support his claims, Trump said, “All I have to do is look. And I listen. I listen to people.”
“But, sir, that’s not evidence,” Welker countered.
As NBC News notes, the long vote count in California is a result of the state’s election rules and mail-in voting protocol, in which ballots postmarked by election day can be accepted up to a week later and then requiring validation, processing, and tallying.
NBC
In the interview, Trump told Welker that California officials are “crooked just like you’re crooked. Your press is crooked. And Meet the Press is crooked.”
“To be fair, I’m not crooked, but let’s continue,” Welker said.
“Really?” Trump responded. “Well, you play right into their hands then. You’re either crooked, or you’re stupid. You play right into their hands with this stuff. You know that these elections are rigged. Your network knows that they’re rigged.”
Then Trump continued his rampage against the press. “Your elections are crooked, and you’re crooked, and Meet the Press is crooked. And so is ABC and CBS and CNN. You’re a one-sided crooked network.”
At that point, Trump bailed on the interview. “Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough,” he said. “Thank you, darling. Have a good time.”
As Welker protested Trump’s brash exit, he told her, “You ought to straighten out your press, because you know what? Our country can never be great with a dishonest press.” He also stepped on his microphone on his way out.
Reporting from the studio on Sunday, Welker told viewers that she spoke to the president on Saturday and that they “both acknowledged the complications during the interview posed by the rain.” She said Trump agreed to join her for another Meet the Press interview.
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