President Donald Trump abruptly ended a sit-down with NBC News after a series of increasingly tense exchanges with Meet the Press anchor Kristen Welker.
The combative interview aired Sunday, but it was taped amid a rainstorm in rural Wisconsin on Friday. The rain was so severe it could be heard in the background throughout the conversation and Welker noted the interview had to be paused twice – once for heavy rain to pass and another time for audio issues.
Trump Calls It Quits
But rain and technical troubles turned out to be the least of NBC and Welker’s worries. As the interview progressed, the tension between President Trump and his interviewer grew as she pressed him on the ongoing conflict with Iran, the economic fallout here at home, and, finally, the state of the closely watched – and highly criticized – vote count in California after last Tuesday’s primary. That is when the tension that had been building finally boiled over.
TRUMP: Do you think it’s appropriate that they have an election and five days later, they’re nowhere close to picking a winner?
WELKER: State and local officials acknowledge they are slow. They’re urging–
TRUMP: No, they’re crooked.
WELKER: They’re urging the votes to be counted quickly. That’s how they vote in California.
TRUMP: They’re crooked, just like you’re crooked. Your press is crooked. And Meet the Press is crooked.
WELKER: To be fair, I’m not crooked. But let’s continue.
TRUMP: Really? Well, you play right into their hands then.
WELKER: Let’s continue.
TRUMP: You’re either crooked or you’re stupid.
WELKER: Let’s continue.
TRUMP: You play right into their hands with this crap. You know that these elections are rigged. Your network knows that they’re rigged.
Welker attempted to get the sit-down back on track, but Trump rolled right over her multiple “but Mr. President” pleas.
“You’re crooked, and Meet the Press is crooked, and so is ABC and CBS and CNN,” he alleged. “You’re a one-sided crooked network.”
With that, he ended the interview. “Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough,” the president declared. “Thank you, darling. Have a good time.”
That’s when Welker began complaining about her travel schedule in an attempt to salvage the sit-down. “Mr. President, please, I traveled all the way to Wisconsin,” she pleaded.
“I’ve sat in the rain with you for an hour, on and off in the rain. And I’ve given you enough time,” he replied. “You ought to straighten out your press because you know what? A country can never be great with a dishonest press.”
While that is where the taped interview ended, Welker claimed she and the president spoke after the cameras stopped rolling and he agreed to another interview at a later date.
Megyn’s Take
On Monday’s show, Megyn explained why she believes President Trump was justified in his decision to end the interview when he did. Below are her remarks, edited for length and clarity:
“I don’t blame him… He sat there with her for quite some time. Reportedly, they were together for an hour, and the problem for Kristen Welker is she made that moment about Kristen Welker and about the ‘vaunted’ reputation of NBC News.
When you are interviewing the president of the United States, especially Donald Trump, you are going to have to give him a little. You’ve got to give him something. There is a back and forth in an interview where you can’t just keep battering him over the head at every turn.
Look at that exchange, he says: ‘Do you think it’s appropriate that they have an election and five days later, they’re nowhere close to picking a winner?’ She says, ‘State and local officials acknowledge they are slow. They’re urging the votes to be counted quickly.’ He says, ‘No, they’re crooked.’ [She says,] ‘That’s how they vote in California.’
Why wouldn’t you, as the news anchor, give him that point? Why wouldn’t you say, ‘I understand it erodes confidence for many’? That is such a gimme. Give him that; give him anything. Instead, she had to take every point on because otherwise you are an election denier.
I have never said the 2020 election was stolen. A lot of my audience would love for me to say that. I can see what is happening in California stinks to high heaven. And you know what? I have credibility to say that because I didn’t jump on every election denier claim and so on. Kristen Welker, you undermined your own credibility. You think you are boosting your credibility by not giving him what everybody can see, which is:
It’s suspicious as hell that this woman [Nithya Raman] came out of a distant third in all the days after the actual vote [in the Los Angeles mayoral race] and is now going to be the second to make it into the general election contest over the one Republican Spencer Pratt, who coincidentally happens to be very Trumpy.
Who do they think they are kidding? It smells. We don’t believe it…
[President Trump] was getting frustrated. [He said,] ‘They’re crooked, just like you’re crooked. The press is crooked.’ [She replied,] ‘To be fair, I’m not crooked.’ Would you stop? This is Trump’s tactic. He’s angry with you. Don’t take the bait… You don’t have to respond to the personal attack in the moment just because he makes it. Or maybe try to be playful. Maybe try to lighten the mood. Because you can see he’s getting agitated…
The whole thing was very antagonistic… There was a lot of this prior to the moment… And honestly, by the time he got up and walked, I didn’t blame him and I wasn’t surprised. She was rude. He has allowed you to interview him. There is a lot going on in the country right now. ‘I flew all the way to Wisconsin.’ Who gives a shit? No one cares. You got on a plane? Boohoo. You have one hour of television you have to do a week… [If] you’re so desperate to save the interview, why don’t you treat him more respectfully as it goes on?
There is a way of challenging him without being so whiny and nasty. Work on that. Try to be a little bit more likable. You don’t think everything he is saying is a bunch of nonsense. No, you wanted to perform for your audience – you had to perform for them [and] for your bosses at NBC. That is why he got up and walked out, which you deserved. And I’m sorry to hear that you’re allegedly getting another interview because you don’t deserve that.”
You can check out Megyn’s full analysis by tuning in to episode 1,334 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.