President Trump walked out of an interview on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” after being pressed on his repeated claims that the 2020 election and last week’s California primaries were “rigged.”
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
President Trump abruptly walked out of an interview with NBC’s “Meet The Press” after being pressed about his controversial weaponization fund and ongoing false claims about elections.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, “MEET THE PRESS”)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Let’s call it quits ’cause I’ve had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time.
KRISTEN WELKER: Mr. President, let’s – please. I traveled all the way…
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Trump also used the interview to defend his Iran policy and continue to tout a possible peace agreement, but without giving details.
MARTÍNEZ: All right, NPR’s White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez has more. Franco, I mean, a good portion of the interview focused on the war on Iran. He seemed, though, visibly frustrated.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Yeah, A, he was defensive about the war not coming to an end faster, I mean, making several comments about other wars lasting longer – Vietnam, World War II. I mean, he wants more slack for what he’s doing. Now, again, he said there’ll be a deal soon or that military action would resume, but he didn’t give any specifics, and as we’ve been reporting, he’s been saying that kind of thing for weeks now.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. He often talks about how desperate Iran is to make a deal, yet weeks go by, weeks go by, still no deal.
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I mean, Trump was pressed about that specifically. And he expressed some sympathy for the Iranians, saying they’re being forced to do something that’s very hard.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, “MEET THE PRESS”)
TRUMP: They’re strong. They’re proud. There are things they never thought they’d be doing that they’re going to have to do. They’ve got no choice. And it takes a little while.
MARTÍNEZ: And he said similar things about the new ayatollah, who he said has been getting involved.
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, one of the big challenges that the administration has faced and complained about is dealing with the various factions of the Iranian government, all the differing opinions. But like you said, the new ayatollah does appear to be getting more involved. He still hasn’t been seen, though, since the start of the war when his father was killed. But interestingly, Trump called the new ayatollah brave and rational and said he had the respect of the people.
MARTÍNEZ: And it wasn’t until NBC’s Kristen Welker started questioning Trump about the anti-weaponization fund that things started to get really, really heated. Tell us why.
ORDOÑEZ: Well, Trump says the fund is for those who have been unfairly targeted and victimized by the government, but many critics see it as a slush fund for Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol and beat police officers on January 6. Now, a lot of Republican lawmakers are concerned about the political implications – I mean, so much so that Trump’s own attorney general tried to assure them that the fund was going away. But in the interview, Trump made very clear that he’s not given up on the idea.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, “MEET THE PRESS”)
TRUMP: Me, personally – I think the weaponization fund is a great idea, and so do many other Republicans. You have to get it approved. If they get it approved, that’s great. If they don’t get it approved, I’d be disappointed.
ORDOÑEZ: You know, it was soon after that that Trump walked out of the interview when Welker was pushing back on his continued claims of election fraud.
MARTÍNEZ: And also, speaking of this week, Franco, what else are you going to be watching for?
ORDOÑEZ: Well, I expect the anti-weaponization fund will continue to take up a lot of oxygen in Washington, D.C. I mean, Trump’s also heading up to New York to watch the NBA Finals tonight. Trump’s always liked to mix politics and sports in ways that other presidents just have not done. And to that end, I mean, he’s gearing up to host a big UFC mixed martial arts fight on the South Lawn on Sunday, though there are legal efforts to stop it. And then he heads to France, where he’ll be doing some business with top European leaders, talking about Iran, Ukraine, trade and other global challenges.
MARTÍNEZ: Lots coming up this week. That’s White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Franco, thanks.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you.
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