A high-profile sit-down in Wisconsin ended abruptly when President Donald Trump stopped a contentious interview with NBCās Kristen Welker after a lengthy exchange over election integrity, media coverage, and a proposed compensation fund for people he says were targeted by government officials.
According to Fox News, the tense moment unfolded during Sundayās edition of āMeet The Press,ā where Welker repeatedly questioned Trump about his support for an āanti-weaponizationā fund and his claims regarding election fraud.
The discussion intensified when Welker asked whether Trump was abandoning the proposed fund after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche recently said the administration would not move forward with it.
āJust to be very clear, are you backing off the fund completely as your acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, has said, or are you looking for another avenue to revive the fund?ā Welker asked.
Trump defended the concept, arguing that Americans had suffered under what he described as political targeting by officials in President Joe Bidenās administration.
āPeople have been hurt so badly by radical left lunatics that worked for the Biden administration and Sleepy Joe,ā Trump said. āTheyāre vicious. Theyāre violent, what they did to people. And, of course, they went after me more than anybody else.ā
When Welker pressed him again about whether he still wanted to pursue the proposal, Trump indicated he remained supportive.
āIf it was up to me, Iād pay them the kind of money that they deserve,ā Trump said. āSo me, personally, I think the weaponization fund is a great idea, and so do many other Republicans. You have to get it approved.ā
The conversation then shifted toward Trumpās broader criticisms of the media and the Biden administration.
āI love the idea, because people like you, the fake dirty press, the crooked press, people like stupid Biden, heās not smart enough to know whatās going on, but people that surrounded him, surrounded his beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, what they did to the lives of people, they destroyed people,ā Trump said.
Welker challenged Trumpās assertions, telling him, āJust to be very clear, thereās no evidence of what youāre saying.ā
Trump disagreed.
āThereās a lot of evidence,ā Trump said. āListen to me. Thereās tremendous evidence. Thereās nothing but evidence.ā
The exchange grew even more heated when Trump revisited his claims about the 2020 election and pointed to Californiaās election certification process.
āThe election was rigged,ā Trump said. āIt was a dirty election. And itās happening again right now in California.ā
He later turned his criticism directly toward the media.
āAll I have to do is look,ā Trump said. āTheyāre crooked just like youāre crooked, your press is crooked. And Meet The Press is crooked.ā
āYour elections are crooked, and youāre crooked, and āMeet The Pressā is crooked. And so is ABC and CBS and CNN,ā Trump said before ending the interview.
As Welker attempted to continue the conversation, noting that NBC had traveled to Wisconsin for the interview, Trump declined.
āMr. President, letās⦠please, I traveled all the way to Wisconsin,ā Welker said.
Trump responded that he had already devoted enough time to the interview.
āI sat in the rain with you for an hour,ā Trump said. āOn and off in the rain, and Iāve 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.ā
