Donald Trump exits after tense ‘Meet the Press’ interview
President Donald Trump abruptly ended an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” after Kristen Welker challenged baseless election claims.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump abruptly ended a controversial and rainy interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” after he was challenged for saying without evidence that California’s election was fraudulent.
President Trump also defended a controversial $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, despite his administration publicly abandoning the plan, and warned that the United States would remove Iran’s highly enriched uranium “militarily with great rigor” if Iranian leaders did not agree to dispose of the material in the ongoing war.
Here are key takeaways from President Trump’s interview with “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker, which aired on Sunday, June 7.
Trump leaves the press conference
Trump cut the interview short after the conversation turned to the slow counting of votes in California in last week’s primary, which has delayed final results in races such as the governor’s race and the Los Angeles mayor’s race.
President Trump said “the election is being rigged by the Democrats” and accused California election officials of being “crooked,” repeating similar claims to his baseless claims about his loss in the 2020 presidential election.
California election officials are still counting mail-in ballots, which are more skewed toward Democrats than Election Day votes. As a result, Democratic candidates gained more votes as mail-in votes were counted.
“We’re at their mercy on this issue. You know this election is fraudulent,” Trump told Welker, calling the U.S. a “Third World country” regarding the election.
Trump continued: “The election is skewed, you’re skewed. Meet the Press is skewed.” “You are a one-sided, distorted network. I’m sorry. Enough is enough, let’s stop. Thank you, darling. Enjoy.”
President Trump removed the microphone from his suit jacket.
“Mr. President, please. I’ve been all the way to Wisconsin,” Welker said.
“I sat in the rain with you for an hour,” Trump replied, before getting up from his chair.
Due to heavy rain, there will be a delay during the interview.
The rain could be heard pounding heavily on the metal roof of the building where Welker and Trump were sitting, which appeared to be bothering the president.
The interview took place on Friday, June 5, inside a barn in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, where President Trump was visiting for a roundtable discussion with farmers.
President Trump mentioned rain multiple times. “Is that wind or something?” Trump said at one point when the rain got particularly heavy. “What is that?”
At another moment, Mr. Welker said, “As we’re having this conversation, I can hear a lot of rain.”
“No, it’s raining heavily,” Trump interjected.
‘I’ll pay them’: President Trump still supports anti-weaponization funds
After intense bipartisan backlash, the Trump administration backed away from plans to create a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund that could have funneled money to Trump supporters who say they were treated unfairly by past Democratic administrations.
However, in an interview with “Meet the Press,” President Trump made it clear that he still supports the idea and would not rule out the possibility of taxpayer dollars going to the individuals who assaulted police officers during the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“People have been horribly hurt by the Biden administration and the far-left lunatics who worked for Sleepy Joe. They’re heinous. They’re violent and what they did to people,” Trump said. “And of course they chased me more than anyone else.
“If it were up to me, I would pay them what they deserve,” the president added. “People were destroyed, lives were destroyed.”
President Trump’s anti-weaponization fund was widely condemned by Democrats and raised alarm among some Republicans about the potential for money to go to the mob that assaulted police officers on January 6th. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told members of Congress on June 2 that the Justice Department is “not moving forward with establishing the fund.”
But Trump hasn’t changed his mind.
“Personally, I think a weaponization fund is a great idea, and so do many other Republicans,” Trump said. “I have to get it approved. If it gets approved, that’s great. If it doesn’t, I’ll be disappointed.”
President Trump says US will remove uranium with or without deal
President Trump said the United States would work with Iran to recover highly enriched uranium if there is a deal to end the Iran war, warning that otherwise the United States would use military force to remove the material.
“If we make a deal now, we will be friendly and we will all be together. It will be our equipment. Whether it is on the premises or taken off the premises, we will take it out and destroy it,” the president said.
Referring to enriched uranium, which can be used to make nuclear weapons, President Trump said, “If we can’t come to an agreement, we’re going to be very strict and eliminate it militarily.”
Iran’s nuclear program and uranium holdings remain a sticking point in negotiations between the United States and Iran. President Trump has repeatedly teased that a deal is close, but no deal has materialized. Iran has publicly stated that its right to enrich uranium is non-negotiable.
President Trump has said he would resume attacks on Iran if he did not think progress was being made in the negotiations, but said he was satisfied with the negotiations.
Asked what would cause a resumption of military action, Trump said: “My criteria is if we don’t think we’re going to get a deal or if we’re not going to get a deal fast enough.” “We are in very good negotiations with the people who are leading this country right now.”
X Contact Joey Garrison at @joeygarrison.
