Trump ends NBC interview after being pressed on election fraud allegations
President Donald Trump walked out of a televised interview with NBC News in Wisconsin after host Kristen Welker repeatedly asked for evidence supporting his claims of election fraud in the 2020 election and current California primaries.
President Donald Trump terminated a taped interview with NBC News' Kristen Welker in Wisconsin on Friday after she repeatedly asked him to substantiate his assertions that the 2020 presidential election was rigged and that fraud was occurring in the ongoing California primary contests. Welker questioned the basis for Trump's claim that the length of time required to count California mail-in ballots indicated cheating, to which Trump replied, "All I have to do is look," without providing specific evidence.
When Welker noted that Trump and his allies had filed dozens of lawsuits over the 2020 results and succeeded in only one minor case, Trump described the network as "crooked" and suggested similar bias at other news outlets. He then said he had "more evidence than ever presented" before ending the interview and walking off camera.
California officials, including Governor Gavin Newsom, have said the state's vote-counting process can take days or weeks due to the volume of mail-in ballots and existing legal procedures. Political science professor Christian Grose of USC said the state "really cares about counting its ballots" and therefore employs multiple voting methods.
Separately, Trump-appointed first assistant U.S. attorney Bill Essayli announced that his office has opened several investigations into alleged structural vulnerabilities in California's election system and is auditing voter rolls. The interview also touched on the administration's proposed "anti-weaponization fund" intended for Jan. 6 rioters; Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the administration is not moving forward with the fund, though he did not provide a written statement. When asked whether those convicted of assaulting police should receive payments, Trump said he would need to review the matter.
The interview marked another instance in which Trump abruptly ended a media appearance after facing challenging questions, following similar exits from a 2020 "60 Minutes" interview and a 2022 NPR interview.