Politics
Trump Walked Off Meet the Press Mid‑Interview
By Mike Harper · June 8, 2026
The interview was taped on a Wisconsin farm last Friday. It was raining hard enough that the drops were audible on the microphones. Kristen Welker sat across from the president and worked through a list of topics — the Iran war, farmers struggling with fuel costs, the $1.776 billion weaponization fund — and eventually arrived at California.
That’s where it ended.
Trump told Welker that California’s ongoing primary vote count was fraudulent, that the election had been rigged, and that the same thing that happened in 2020 was happening again right now. Welker asked for evidence. Trump said the evidence was obvious, it was happening in real time, anyone could see it. Welker asked again. Trump told her she was being dishonest.
“The election was rigged. It was a dirty election and it’s happening again right now in California.”
Welker pointed out he hadn’t provided evidence. Trump said NBC was a crooked network — and then extended the assessment to ABC, CNN, and CBS.
“Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough, thank you darling.”
He got up and left.
The interview aired Sunday on Meet the Press. The context for the California comments is that late-arriving mail ballots had been shifting results in the Los Angeles mayoral race — moving Spencer Pratt, the Trump-aligned Republican candidate, from second place toward third, with progressive councilmember Nithya Raman gaining ground. Trump has offered no specific evidence of fraud. California’s mail ballot counting process is identical to every prior election cycle in the state.
Before the California exchange, the interview covered substantive ground. Welker cited data showing 70% of farmers saying they can’t afford fertilizer. Trump said fuel prices were coming down as soon as the Iran war ended. Welker asked about the weaponization fund — the $1.776 billion program to compensate Trump allies and Jan. 6 defendants that the administration abandoned last week after a Republican Senate revolt and a federal court block. Trump defended the concept of the fund while declining to engage with specifics about its collapse.
The walkout is the third time Trump has ended a hostile media interview early in his second term. The previous two were with CBS News and with the Associated Press. Each time, he has characterized the interviewer as dishonest rather than the questions as unanswerable.
Welker’s response after the interview aired was measured.
“Our job is to ask the questions that the American people deserve answers to, and we’ll keep doing that.”