A high-profile sit-down in Wisconsin ended abruptly when President Donald Trump stopped a contentious interview with NBC’s 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 Sunday’s edition of “Meet the Press,” where Welker repeatedly questioned Trump about his support for an “anti-weaponization” 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.
“Just 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?” Welker asked.
Trump defended the concept, arguing that Americans had suffered under what he described as political targeting by officials in President Joe Biden’s administration.
“People have been hurt so badly by radical left lunatics that worked for the Biden administration and Sleepy Joe,” Trump said. “They’re vicious. They’re violent, what they did to people. And, of course, they went after me more than anybody else.”
When Welker pressed him again about whether he still wanted to pursue the proposal, Trump indicated he remained supportive.
“If it was up to me, I’d pay them the kind of money that they deserve,” Trump said. “So me, personally, I think the weaponization fund is a great idea, and so do many other Republicans. You have to get it approved.”
The conversation then shifted toward Trump’s broader criticisms of the media and the Biden administration.
“I love the idea, because people like you, the fake dirty press, the crooked press, people like stupid Biden, he’s not smart enough to know what’s 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,” Trump said.
Welker challenged Trump’s assertions, telling him, “Just to be very clear, there’s no evidence of what you’re saying.”
Trump disagreed.
“There’s a lot of evidence,” Trump said. “Listen to me. There’s tremendous evidence. There’s nothing but evidence.”
The exchange grew even more heated when Trump revisited his claims about the 2020 election and pointed to California’s election certification process.
“The election was rigged,” Trump said. “It was a dirty election. And it’s happening again right now in California.”
He later turned his criticism directly toward the media.
“All I have to do is look,” Trump said. “They’re crooked just like you’re crooked, your press is crooked. And Meet the Press is crooked.”
“Your elections are crooked, and you’re crooked, and ‘Meet the Press’ is crooked. And so is ABC and CBS and CNN,” 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.
“Mr. President, let’s… please, I traveled all the way to Wisconsin,” Welker said.
Trump responded that he had already devoted enough time to the interview.
“I sat in the rain with you for an hour,” Trump said. “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.”
