Kristen Welker has described what Donald Trump told her after abruptly ending their interview.
Trump has long been known for lashing out at reporters and news organizations, especially when he is challenged. Over the years, he has repeatedly attacked coverage he dislikes and has also drawn criticism for comments aimed at women in the press.
Among the examples are his repeated references to ‘fake news’, his habit of branding certain media outlets as ‘failing’, and separate moments such as when he told a female journalist ‘quiet, piggy’.
One of the latest confrontations came during a Meet the Press interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker. The exchange deteriorated after she disputed a series of false claims Trump made about the January 6 attack on the Capitol, the 2020 election, and the recent California election.
The interview took place in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, where Welker traveled for the sit-down and later said the conversation was complicated by rain pounding on the roof of the building being used for the last-minute setup.
During the sit-down, Trump alleged that FBI agents had let his supporters into the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
That claim has been widely debunked. A Justice Department inspector general report found no undercover FBI employees were present in the crowd at the Capitol on January 6, and fact-checkers have said there is no evidence FBI agents ushered rioters into the building.
He also repeated his claim that the 2020 presidential race, which was won by Joe Biden, and the California election had both been rigged.
Those allegations have also been repeatedly rejected by courts, election officials and independent reviews, with no evidence produced showing widespread fraud sufficient to change the outcome of the 2020 election.
As Welker challenged those assertions, Trump became more combative and called her ‘crooked’ and ‘stupid’.
Eventually, he cut the conversation short.
“All right, let’s call it quits cause I’ve had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time.”
Welker later explained that she had gone ‘all the way to Wisconsin’, where heavy rain was falling on the warehouse used for the last-minute interview setup.
Trump still decided to end it and responded:
“I’ve sat in the rain with you for an hour … and I’ve given you enough time. You oughta straighten out your press because you know what, a country can never be great with a dishonest press.”
He then told aides ‘come on, let’s go’, briefly touched Welker on the shoulder, and walked away.
The clash quickly drew attention because it echoed earlier high-profile confrontations between Trump and television interviewers, while also highlighting the central role false election claims and January 6 revisionism continue to play in his public remarks.
Welker has since spoken about what happened once the cameras were off and the interview was over.
In comments to Vanity Fair, she said Trump contacted her the following morning.
“I spoke to him the morning after the interview, and without getting into an exact verbatim of what was said, he effectively said, ‘Look, the rain was disruptive. We’re going to do this again in Washington’.”
Her account suggests Trump tried to smooth things over after the on-camera blow-up, despite having ended the exchange so abruptly in Wisconsin.
Welker also said handling tense exchanges with Trump is simply part of covering him.
“I’ve covered President Trump since 2015 when he was a candidate, and it doesn’t faze me at all. It’s part of the conversation. I anticipate it to some extent.”