[E-Daily Reporter Bang Sung-hoon] U.S. President Donald Trump left his seat during a broadcast interview. The interview ended unilaterally when the host repeatedly questioned the grounds for the "election rigging" claim.
According to the BBC on the 7th (local time), President Trump clashed with Christine Welker, the host, several times during the pre-recording of the NBC current affairs program "Meet the Press" interview that aired on the same day. In an interview, President Trump claimed that both the ongoing California primary (primary) and the 2020 presidential election were "rigged."
Welker asked for evidence of California vote rigging, and President Trump replied, "I just have to watch and listen." When Welker responded, "That's not evidence," he called the media "dishonest" and ended the interview, saying, "I'm sorry, but let's stop here. We've done enough."
The BBC added that President Trump has maintained a strained relationship with traditional media and has frequently criticized the media for being biased against him.
The interview was held in a barn while President Trump attended a farmers' event in Wisconsin. It was repeatedly delayed due to technical defects and the sound of rain hitting the tin roof. NBC reported that he left 50 minutes after sitting down on the 5th.
Much of the interview was a Q&A session surrounding the dispute with Iran. President Trump said the U.S. should act to prevent Iran from possessing nuclear weapons, but stressed that it would not be an "endless war." "We will stay there for a few months, and then the threat usually disappears," he said.
About six minutes before their departure, the two talked about an "anti-weaponization fund." The plan, which was pushed for about $1.8 billion (W2.785 trillion) to compensate those who claimed to have been unfairly targeted or investigated by the government, is now being scrapped. The plan has drawn fierce criticism from Democrats and some Republicans for allowing compensation to even those accused of the Jan. 6, 2021, storming the Capitol.
As the conversation shifted to the January 6th Capitol storm, President Trump repeated his baseless claim that the 2020 presidential election was rigged, the BBC reported. He also added that when he was questioned by Welker, he quickly turned the topic to the California primary.
The California primaries were held to determine two candidates who would make it to the midterm elections in November in several elections, including the governor, and the counting of votes has not been completed until the day the interview was aired. President Trump claimed that the results were not released for four days at the time of pre-recording of the interview, and that "they are committing fraud in the election."
California's meticulous voting process and extensive mail-in voting frequently delay the determination of the results. President Trump has also been unhappy with mail-in voting.
"They're dishonest, like you're dishonest," Trump said, while Welker responded, "I'm not dishonest, to be fair. But let's get on with it." Then he responded, "Either you're dishonest or stupid," and after further war of words, he said, "Let's end it here. You've done enough. Thank you, take care."
When Welker tried to continue the interview, President Trump said, "I sat down with you in the rain for an hour. I didn't get hit by rain. I gave you enough time," and interrupted him. "We need to correct your media. "You know, a country can never be great with dishonest media," he said, then got out of his seat and walked out, gesturing to people behind the camera, "Come on, let's go."
After the show aired, Welker said, "I talked to President Trump on the 6th (the day after the interview). We both acknowledged that the rain caused a setback in the interview," adding, "He decided to be interviewed again on Meet the Press."
Bang Sung Hoon ([email protected] )
Trump still hasn’t come to his senses.
It might even be a self-admission that he was elected through a rigged election.
It makes you wonder when the United States will return to normal.