Donald Trump ends tense ‘Meet the Press’ interview, walks away from host
President Donald Trump He abruptly ended his interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” and left after moderator Kristen Welker challenged him on false allegations that he had “rigged” the California primary.
The spat between Trump and Welker came in the middle of the president’s pre-midterm election visit to Wisconsin, a key swing state for both parties that he will win in 2024, during a rain-heavy session riddled with weather-related disruptions.
After Welker stated that “Republicans are doing well in California” after the June 2 primaries, Trump said “they are falling fast because it was a rigged election.” This led to a tense back and forth In the interview published on June 7.
Republicans have criticized the days-long counting process in California’s primary races.
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt and conservative and Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton are trailing in their respective contests, but their Democratic foes have gained ground. In California, “jungle primaries” are held in which all candidates, regardless of party, compete against each other and the top two candidates advance to the general election.
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Trump and ‘Meet the Press’ moderator Welker spar over California elections
As Welker and Trump discussed the California races, including the vote counting process, Welker stated that “this is how votes are counted in California.” Trump responded, “Do you know why they’re doing this? Because they’re cheating in the election.”
Welker then asked Trump if he had evidence to support his claims, to which the president responded that “all I have to do is look” and “listen to people.” The NBC anchor once again asked for evidence of election fraud, repeating that the typical process that takes days is “how votes are counted in California.”
Trump later questioned whether it was appropriate to count votes five days after Election Day, and Welker said California officials had called for a quick vote count but noted the process was slow.
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Trump told Welker “they’re crooked just like you’re crooked, your press is crooked and ‘Meet the Press’ is crooked too.” he said. Welker denied the accusations, and Trump said his questions “came into their hands.”
Trump ends ‘Meet the Press’ interview
Welker called Trump “either an idiot or a fraud” and urged him to continue with the interview. The president also criticized other news organizations such as ABC, CBS and CNN.
Trump then wanted to end the interview and appeared to pull out his microphone to throw it away.
President Donald Trump walked out of a “Meet the Press” interview that aired June 7 at a rally last month.
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“I’m sorry. Let’s stop this now because enough is enough,” Trump said. “Thank you, honey. Have fun.”
When Welker told Trump he went to Wisconsin for an interview, since “MTP” is usually filmed on set in Washington, he responded, “I sat with you in the rain for an hour.” As Welker tried to continue speaking, Trump said he “sitting in the rain from time to time, and I’ve given you enough time. You’ve got to fix your press.”
Kristen Welker, pictured in 2020, moderated the “Meet the Press” segment with President Donald Trump on June 7.
The interview ended, and Welker said he spoke with Trump on June 6 from the show’s Washington studio and they both noted weather challenges. The “MTP” host also revealed that Trump agreed to speak with him for another interview.
This article first appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump drops ‘Meet the Press’ interview
