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US President Donald Trump on Sunday lashed out at NBC’s Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker before abruptly ending a television interview, accusing her and major American news networks of being ‘crooked’ while defending his claims that US elections are rigged.The confrontation escalated when Welker pressed Trump to provide evidence for his repeated allegations of election fraud. Trump responded by attacking the moderator directly.”Really? Well, you play right into their hands then. You’re either crooked or you’re stupid,” Trump said after Welker rejected his claim that she was biased. According to the video going viral on social media, Trump accused Welker and the American media of dishonesty before removing his microphone and walking away from the interview.The confrontation began when Welker questioned Trump about his proposed ‘anti-weaponisation fund’, a plan aimed at compensating people who believe they were unfairly targeted by the Biden administration. The proposal has since stalled after the US Department of Justice indicated it would not move forward.Defending the idea, Trump accused the media and political opponents of destroying lives through what he described as politically motivated prosecutions. “I love the idea because people like you, the fake dirty press, the crooked press, people like stupid Biden, he’s not smart enough to know what’s going on but people that surrounded him … what they did to the lives of people, they destroyed people. They sent people to jail who did nothing wrong,” Trump said.The interview became increasingly tense when Welker challenged Trump’s repeated claims that the 2020 US presidential election was rigged and asked him to provide evidence.Trump responded by insisting there was extensive proof.”Listen to me: There’s tremendous evidence. There’s nothing but evidence. The election was rigged. It was a dirty election, and it’s happening again right now in California,” he said.Welker repeatedly pressed the president to provide proof for his allegations. Trump instead pointed to the pace of vote counting in California and accused election officials of cheating.As the exchange continued, Trump turned his criticism directly towards Welker and the media.”No, they’re crooked. They’re crooked, just like you’re crooked. Your press is crooked and Meet the Press is crooked,” Trump said.When Welker replied that she was not crooked, Trump responded: “Really? Well, you play right into their hands then. You’re either crooked or you’re stupid.”The argument escalated further as Trump broadened his attack to include major American news networks.”Your elections are crooked and you’re crooked and Meet the Press is crooked, and so is ABC and CBS and CNN. You’re one-sided crooked networks,” he said.Moments later, Trump signalled he was ending the interview.”Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you, darling,” he told Welker before removing his microphone.As the moderator urged him to continue, Trump defended his decision to walk away.”I’ve given you enough time. You ought to straighten out your press because you know what, a country can never be great with a dishonest press,” he said before leaving.The latest confrontation adds to a growing list of clashes between Trump and journalists.Trump has also faced backlash in recent months for his exchanges with women journalists. In November 2025, he told Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey to “Quiet. Quiet, piggy” when she questioned him about files linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.He later called ABC News correspondent Mary Bruce “a terrible reporter” and labelled ABC “fake news” during a White House event. Trump has also publicly criticised CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins and other reporters covering his administration.
