US President Donald Trump’s history of lashing out at reporters is nothing new. However, this time, he not only lashed out but also walked out of an interview, calling the reporter a “liar” and “crooked.”
Trump was speaking to NBC’s Kristen Welker in Wisconsin when he abruptly ended the interview and walked away after she pressed him to provide evidence supporting his allegations of fraud in California’s gubernatorial election. Follow US-Iran live updates here
Here’s what exactly happened
In an interview that aired on Sunday, Trump brought up the California gubernatorial election, saying it had been four days and officials were still nowhere close to announcing the results. He claimed this was because they were cheating in the election.
Trump also reiterated his claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged and claimed that “it’s happening again right now” in California.
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“It’s four days and they aren’t even close to counting [ballots],” Trump argued, claiming that Republican candidates in the state were not performing well. “Do you know why they’re doing that? Because they’re cheating on the election,” he added.
When Welker asked Trump to provide evidence to support his allegations, he replied, “All I have to do is look.” He later asked her, “Do you think it’s appropriate that they have an election and five days later, they’re nowhere close to picking a winner?”
When Welker pointed out that courts and election officials had not substantiated those claims, Trump responded, “They’re crooked, just like you’re crooked. Your press is crooked. And ‘Meet the Press’ is crooked.”
Welker then tried to defend herself, saying, “To be fair, I’m not crooked,” and attempted to ask further questions. Trump, however, maintained, “You’re either crooked or you’re stupid. You play right into their hands with this crap. You know that these elections are rigged. Your network knows that they’re rigged.”
He continued, saying that the US is “like a third-world country” when it comes to administering elections. Trump also took a jibe at other news organisations, calling them “crooked.”
“And so is ABC, and CBS, and CNN. You’re one-sided, crooked networks,” he said before eventually declaring that he had “had enough” and walking out of the interview.
“Sorry. Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time.”
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Welker tried to continue the interview, noting that she had travelled all the way to Wisconsin for the conversation. Trump replied, “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 oughta straighten out your press.”
He added that “a country can never be great with a dishonest press.”
Welker continued trying to persuade him to stay, but Trump got up, patted her on the arm, and walked out.
Earlier in the interview, Trump got irritated by Welker when she asked him if those who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers during the January 6 riots would be eligible for funding included in Trump’s controversial “anti-weaponization” fund, as reported by the Guardian.
Trump said that the rioters took plea deals due to fears of longer prison sentences.
“You know why they pleaded guilty? Because they were told they were going to jail for 15 years … because they were frightened. They were down. They were ushered into a building,” Trump said, refusing to answer if such individuals should receive taxpayer funding.
Trump slams CNN for Iran coverage
Trump has long criticised the US press for its coverage on Iran, more recently CNN, claiming that the network put out a knowingly false and dangerous statement pretending it came from the upper levels of the Iranian Government.
In a post on Truth Social, he wrote, “No one can believe that Fake News CNN put out a knowingly false and dangerous statement pretending it came from the upper levels of the Iranian Government. It didn’t!”
“It was totally made up and posted, as a headline, for purpose of, perhaps, inflaming a very delicate situation. It was a new, trouble making site from Nigeria, and CNN just got caught cheating – A very dangerous thing to do!” (sic), he added.
