By now, it’s a familiar narrative: President Trump becomes noticeably angry at a female reporter asking him a challenging question and responds by hurling personal insults at her. This time, Trump not only devolved into personal attacks during a sit-down interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker but actually ended the interview as she pressed him on his unfounded claims of voter fraud.
Trump storms off interview set after hurling ‘crooked’ and ‘stupid’ insults
The dramatic scene happened during a one-on-one interview between Trump and Welker for NBC News’ Meet the Press that was recorded Friday in Wisconsin, where Trump held a town hall meeting with farmers.
In the viral clip that aired Sunday, Welker pressed Trump over his repeated claims of election fraud, which Trump continues to allege concerning the 2020 presidential election and now claims regarding California’s recent primary elections. As Trump forcefully repeated his claims that Democrats are stealing elections and criticized how the media covers him, Welker repeatedly called out Trump for failing to present any evidence of a rigged election.
Trump continued his attacks, accusing Welker of being “crooked.” After Welker countered, “To be fair, I’m not crooked,” Trump doubled down.
“You’re either crooked or you’re stupid,” he snarled at Welker.
Even as Welker attempted to change the subject to discuss interim Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump again repeated his unfounded election claims before abruptly ending the interview.
“Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you, darling, have a good time,” Trump told Welker as he removed his microphone and tossed it to the ground, appearing to step on it as he walked away despite Welker’s pleas to continue the interview.
Trump’s long history of insulting women journalists
Trump’s insults toward Welker and Meet the Press add to a long list of incidents in which Trump has not only attacked the media but specifically hurled personal insults at women reporters, many of them women of color.
Trump recently called MS Now reporter Akayla Gardner a “dumb person” over her questions concerning the president’s controversial White House ballroom construction project. A week earlier, the president called ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott “one of the worst reporters” and “a horror show,” accusing her of asking “a stupid question” about costly construction projects Trump had implemented around Washington, D.C.
Trump has called other women journalists “stupid,” “ugly” and “obnoxious” and told one female reporter, “Quiet, piggy,” over a question he did not like.
Welker, meanwhile, has had intense exchanges with Trump before, pressing him in other interviews about his unfounded election fraud claims as well as his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Welker was also praised for her fairness and her ability to handle Trump when she moderated one of the 2020 presidential debates between Trump and Joe Biden.
Before Trump’s exit, Welker pressed him on Iran war, January 6 slush fund
This time, Trump’s decision to storm out of the interview came after an intense conversation between Trump and Welker.
The interview covered other domestic issues, such as the controversial proposal for a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” that critics argued would be used to give taxpayer money to Trump allies such as the Jan. 6 rioters. Trump refused to rule out giving money to people who assaulted police officers on Jan. 6, claiming, “I don’t know what’s going to happen with the weaponization fund,” while also arguing that many of those jailed over Jan. 6 were targeted by the FBI and “crooked cops” and deserved compensation.
In another part of the interview, Welker pressed Trump concerning the war launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran, reminding Trump of his campaign pledge not to start any new U.S. wars.
“First of all, I didn’t guarantee no war. Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?” Trump claimed, ignoring past statements including his election night victory speech promise: “I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.”
Overall, Welker’s interview covered a host of controversial issues that have come to define President Trump’s second term in office so far. The president responded with his usual mix of deflection, talking points and false claims, and as he has done many times before, he resorted to personally insulting a woman for asking questions he did not like.