Overview
- The interview aired on Sunday and ended abruptly when President Trump removed his microphone, called NBC and other networks “crooked,” and walked off during a confrontation with host Kristen Welker.
- Welker repeatedly asked Trump to produce evidence for his claim that the 2020 election was rigged and that recent California counts were being manipulated, and she told him he had presented no proof.
- Trump defended a proposed $1.8 billion “weaponization” fund to compensate people he says were targeted by politicized prosecutions, but the Justice Department told reporters it would not move forward with that plan.
- The sit-down, filmed on a Wisconsin farm, suffered repeated rain and audio interruptions; after the broadcast Welker said she and the president discussed the technical problems and that he agreed to a follow-up interview.
- The exchange fits a broader pattern of the president’s confrontations with the press and could further intensify political and legal debates about election claims, media relations, and proposals to compensate people who say they were unfairly prosecuted.