United States President Donald Trump abruptly ended an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press after a tense exchange with moderator Kristen Welker over his claims that California’s recent primary elections were “rigged.”
The interview, recorded on Friday during Trump’s visit to Wisconsin and aired on Sunday, became confrontational after Welker pressed the president to provide evidence for his allegations of election fraud. Trump claimed Republicans were losing ground in California because of cheating, pointing to the state’s lengthy vote-counting process as proof.
“Do you know why they’re doing that? Because they’re cheating on the election,” Trump said, referring to the continued counting of ballots after the June 2 primary.
Welker challenged the claim, noting that California routinely takes several days to process and count ballots, especially because of mail-in voting and post-election verification procedures. When she repeatedly asked the president to present evidence, Trump replied, “All I have to do is look,” while also saying he relied on reports from others.
The exchange grew sharper as Welker pushed back, saying there was no evidence to support his claims. Trump then accused election officials and major media organisations of dishonesty.
“Your elections are crooked, and you’re crooked, and Meet the Press is crooked,” Trump said, also criticising other television networks before declaring that he had had enough.
Moments later, Trump ended the interview, telling Welker: “Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you, darling.” He then left the set before further questions could be asked.
The clash came during a wider interview that also touched on Trump’s proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponisation” fund, the January 6 Capitol riot and the ongoing war with Iran. Welker had pressed Trump on whether people who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers during the January 6 attack could benefit from the proposed fund. Trump did not clearly rule it out.
The walkout underscored Trump’s continued reliance on unproven election fraud claims, even as election officials and courts have repeatedly rejected similar allegations in previous contests. It also highlighted the president’s increasingly hostile relationship with mainstream news organisations as the United States moves deeper into the midterm election cycle.
Neither NBC nor the White House immediately issued an extensive public statement on the exchange.
