US President Donald Trump abruptly walked out of an NBC interview after a heated exchange with presenter Kristen Welker over claims relating to “rigged elections”.
The interview, aired on Sunday’s Meet the Press, saw Trump repeatedly pressed on a series of allegations, including his assertion that both California’s ongoing primary elections and the 2020 presidential election were “rigged”, reports BBC.
When Welker asked him to provide evidence for his claims about California’s vote count, he replied, “All I have to do is look, and I listen.”
Welker responded, “that’s not evidence”, after which Trump accused the media of being “crooked” and ended the interview, saying, “Sorry, let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough.”
The US president has long maintained a strained relationship with mainstream media, frequently accusing outlets of bias against him.
The interview took place in a barn during an event with farmers in Wisconsin and faced repeated delays due to technical issues and rain hitting the metal roof. NBC said Trump walked out around 50 minutes after the conversation began on Friday.
Much of the discussion focused on US policy towards Iran, with Trump insisting Washington needed to act to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
He also said the situation would not turn into an “endless war”.
“We’re there for a few months and the threat is largely over,” he said.
Shortly before he left the set, Welker raised a now-scrapped proposal linked to the “anti-weaponisation” fund, a plan worth $1.8 billion (£1.3bn) intended to compensate people who claimed they were unfairly targeted or investigated by the government.
The proposal faced criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, who warned it could lead to payments for individuals prosecuted in connection with the US Capitol riot on 6 January 2021.
The conversation then turned to the Capitol riot, where Trump repeated his unsubstantiated claim that the 2020 election was rigged.
He then shifted to California’s primary elections, where votes are still being counted to decide which two candidates in several races — including the governor’s race — will appear on the ballot in November’s midterm elections.
He argued that the results had not been finalised after four days, saying, “They’re cheating on the election.”
When Welker asked, “Do you have evidence to support that?”, Trump responded, “All I have to do is look, and I listen.”
Welker replied, “But that’s not evidence.” Trump then said, “They’re crooked,” adding, “just like you’re crooked.”
Welker said, “To be fair, I’m not crooked. But let’s continue.” Trump went on to tell her, “You’re either crooked or you’re stupid”, before saying, “Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you darling, have a good time.”
Welker tried to continue the interview, but Trump cut her off, saying: “I’ve sat in the rain with you for an hour, on and off in the rain, and I’ve given you enough time.
“You ought to straighten out your press, because you know what? A country can never be great with a dishonest press.”
He then gestured to people off-camera, saying “come on, let’s go”, before standing up and leaving the set.
Following the broadcast, Welker said, “I spoke with President Trump on Saturday and we both acknowledged the complications during the interview posed by the rain. He agreed to sit down with me for another Meet the Press interview.”
