The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has once again shown his true face, that of an angry leader who does not like to be put on the spot, a president who hates the free (that is, critical) press and a sir who disdains what comes from a strong woman, in this case, a journalist. Everything has been made clear in a simple interview.
The magnate abruptly interrupted a previously agreed space for the Sunday program Meet the Press on the NBC network, one of the news references in the US. The Republican, angry, tore the microphone from his lapel and left the recording set amid a torrent of insults towards the interviewer, Kristen Welker. The incident occurred during a recording made on a farm in the state of Wisconsin, on a day marked by heavy rain that hit the metal roof of the stable where they were located. With a tractor in the background, witness to everything.
Tension especially increased when Welker (the second woman and first African-American journalist to lead the program), questioned Trump on various current issues, including the war with Iran, the upcoming midterm elections and the fund against the “politicization of justice.”
This fund, originally endowed with $1.776 million, was intended to compensate people who claimed to have been unfairly investigated by the Department of Justice due to their political support, among them the participants in the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. When asked about the temporary paralysis of the fund by a federal judge and the subsequent withdrawal of the Administration from continuing with the initiative due to bipartisan criticism, Trump attacked the reporter and the chain calling them “dirty and false press.” Clearly, he defended those involved in the assault on the headquarters of national sovereignty, ensuring that they were “taken to the building” by the law enforcement forces themselves.
The confrontation escalated when the conversation turned to the electoral system. Trump reiterated, without providing any evidence, that there was fraud in the California elections and that the US system was rigged. When Welker intervened to clarify that there was no evidence of fraud in those elections, the president exclaimed, visibly upset: “There is more evidence than ever!” He then directly accused the media and the NBC program of corruption.
After the journalist’s reply, who stated bluntly: “To be fair, I am not corrupt,” the president responded with personal disqualifications: “You are corrupt or stupid. You know that these elections are fraudulent. Your media knows that they are.”
Even so, the conversation continued and, later, when questioned about the rising cost of living – especially the price of fuel and fertilizers – derived from the Iran war started on February 28 by the US and Israel, Trump reprimanded the interviewer again, claiming that he was not listening to her answers, before assuring that prices would drop after the conflict.
Finally, the president decided to end the appearance unilaterally. “I’ve had enough,” he said as he removed the microphone. In a condescending and macho tone, he added: “Thank you, honey, have a good time,” ignoring Welker’s attempts to continue with the questionnaire, who reminded him that his team had traveled specifically to Wisconsin. Before leaving, Trump attacked the “unbalanced” press and justified his departure by reproaching it for the time spent in the rain and demanding that it improve its media.
“Thank you, honey, have a good time.”
The North American press recalls that this is not an isolated reaction on the part of the president towards female journalists in the exercise of their profession. In previous episodes, he directed insults and derogatory comments at reporters from outlets such as Bloomberg (whom he called a “pig”), ABC and MS NOW (whom he called a “dumb person”).
Despite the abrupt outcome, Kristen Welker told her viewers on Sunday that after the eventful recording they had a cordial exchange about the setbacks caused by the rain, and that the president agreed to sit down again in the future for another interview in Meet the Press.
The verification, the finishing touch
NBC has given Trump the blame because, after his anger, he published a fact-checking or verification of everything he said in his failed interview. And it doesn’t come out well, again. Regarding the war in Iran, for example, he explains that his statements do not coincide with what the former Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, declared before legislators in March 2025, when she stated that American espionage had evaluated that Tehran had not decided whether to build nuclear weapons, but that the country had reserves of enriched uranium greater than those necessary for civil purposes.
During the interview, Trump also claimed that much of the Iranian military’s weapons had been destroyed as a result of the current war. “This is an exaggeration. NBC News has reported that half of the country’s unconventional navy remains intact after weeks of bombing. This navy includes small speed boats, commonly used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Tehran’s hardline military force. These forces are key to Iran’s ability to influence international maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and due to the nature of this navy, the United States has found it more difficult to identify and attack these forces,” he says. the chain.
“I didn’t guarantee there would be no war. Why would I have built the most powerful army in the world?”
“I didn’t guarantee there would be no war. Why would I have built the most powerful military in the world?” Trump said last night. “I built our army.” But the president repeatedly promised during his campaign that he would not start new wars if elected, they remind him.
Asked about rising gas prices as a result of the war, Trump said they would go down once a deal was reached. However, oil executives have said it will take time to restore oil production in the Middle East and reduce gas prices, even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens immediately.
There is also no evidence of voter fraud in California or problems with vote counting in the state. Trump points to the long wait for vote counts in California, a result of the state’s election rules and the use of mail-in voting, a system the president has long criticized. More than 80% of California voters cast their ballots by mail in the last election. Ballots postmarked by Election Day may be accepted up to a week later, when they must be validated, processed and accounted for.
States where most voters vote in person tend to report results more quickly, since this process can be done at the polling stations with the voter present.
The president indicated that Republicans’ leads in some races are declining rapidly as votes are counted. However, this is not due to fraud, as he claimed. Democratic voters have shifted more toward voting by mail, especially in the post-COVID-19 era, so as those votes are counted, Democratic candidates’ numbers tend to improve.
