The interview took place in tough conditions — it was recorded on Friday in Wisconsin during a heavy rainstorm. The talk happened in a barn with a metal roof, and the constant rain made it hard for both Trump and Welker to hear each other, causing several interruptions.
But once the interview started, it had many intense moments — with the president sending out a lot of sharp comments at Welker and NBC before walking out abruptly.
Here are the five most shocking parts:
1.
Trump was questioned about his repeated “no new wars” promise.
Welker asked Trump about his repeated campaign promise that he wouldn’t start any new wars.
“One of your consistent campaign promises was no new wars, going all the way back to 2015,” Welker said.
“Did you break that promise to the American people?”
“No,” Trump answered.
“I had to stop a country, very powerful, very dangerous country, from having a nuclear weapon because they’d use it. They’d blow up the world. They’d blow up the Middle East. They’d blow up Israel. They’d come here. They’d blow up Europe. They’re nuts, okay? They’re crazy people. I deal with them. And very high-strung people. Little crazy. And – I get along with them. I like them. But you don’t want to let them have a nuclear weapon. And I’m doing the world a service, but I’m doing our country a service. You know, it’s America first. I’m doing our country a service.”
Welker pushed Trump — who then pointed out the moderator.
“Mr. President, in your first term, you held to that promise and it was so fundamental to who you were as a candidate, to a first-term president,” Welker said.
“What changed, because you insisted ‘no new wars?’”
“Well, first of all, I didn’t guarantee no war,” Trump replied.
“Why would I have built the strongest military in the world? I built our military. I inherited a terrible military. We had no equipment. We had nothing. I built a tremendous military. Biden gave a lot of it away, but it’s still a relatively small portion compared to what I built.”
“But you said it over and over again, Mr. President,” Welker replied.
“Wait a minute,” Trump snapped back.
“Why would I build a military — Now, I didn’t want to use this, but I’m doing you and everybody else a big favor.
He added, “Kristen.
I know you, you’re a big liberal, a big progressive.”
“I’m just a journalist,” she replied.
2.
Trump says he doesn’t “want to go into names” of who’s leading Iran.
The president was very hesitant to mention who is currently in charge in Iran and who the U.S. is talking to in peace talks.
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: Well, I don’t want to go into names.
But you know who they are. They’re leaders. They’re respected, respected by the people that have to respect them. They are calling the shots. We know that because we see it through various tests that we’ve given. It’s a little bit strange because you have leaders that have been there for a long time, and they get wiped out. Then you have leaders that you also know, the second tier, and they get wiped out. All of a sudden, we’re dealing with different people. But no, I think that we’ll either have something done fairly quickly, or we’ll finish it out militarily.
KRISTEN WELKER: Are you talking about the son of the Supreme Leader?
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: Well, he’s a part of it.
Yes.
KRISTEN WELKER: He has not been seen in public.
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: No.
But I do believe —
KRISTEN WELKER: What is his status?
Have you talked to him directly?
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: – I do believe they have great respect for him.
I see it. I mean, they want to get his concurrence. They’ve said to me, they’ve said to others, that they’re looking for approval. And he is part of the approval process. Absolutely.
KRISTEN WELKER: Have you spoken to him directly?
You said —
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: I have not.
KRISTEN WELKER: – you want to meet with him.
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: No, I have not.
I would if he’d like to, but I have not spoken to him directly.
KRISTEN WELKER: Do you know where he is?
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: I will tell you, they do —
KRISTEN WELKER: How he is?
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: Yeah.
They do pay homage to him. I would tell you if they didn’t. They seem to – based on what I see, they seem to respect him a great deal.
KRISTEN WELKER: Do you know where he is?
Do you know how he is doing physically?
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: I don’t want to say whether or not I know where he is.
But there’s a good probability that I do.
KRISTEN WELKER: Is he inside Iran?
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: I’d rather not say that.
3. “I love the farmers, and the farmers love me.”
When Welker asked Trump about the tough economic situation many farmers are facing, the president used exaggerated language to defend himself and his actions.
On what he would say to farmers who are struggling: “I love the farmers, and the farmers love me.
The farmers trust me.”
“Well, 70% of farmers say they can’t afford fertilizer,” Welker said.
“What is your message to farmers, many who support you, but who say they’re struggling?”
“All of them support me,” Trump replied.
He added, “There’s nobody been better to farmers. You know what I gave farmers last term? $28 billion because China took advantage and other people. And you know who paid for it? China, last term. You know, I had a great first term. I had the greatest economy ever. And you know what? This one’s blowing it away.”
Welker asked again.
“What’s your message to farmers though, Mr. President, who say they are struggling?”
Welker said. “They’re struggling to make ends meet.”
Trump got angry at Welker.
“Am I allowed to talk?”
Trump said. “You keep asking questions, and you don’t listen to the answers. I love the farmers, and the farmers love me. The farmers trust me. In the first term, I had something very similar. China and others were – and Canada, which was brutal, they were taking advantage of our farmers. They don’t take advantage of them anymore. I gave them $28 billion, split up. They never had a pay day like that. And the farmers love me. And they came back, and they voted for me in record numbers. You know that. Nobody’s ever even come close.”
4.
Trump storms off.
The heated exchange ended suddenly when the topic shifted to election fraud.
Welker’s fact-checks of Trump’s unfounded claims led to the president walking out.
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: You play right into their hands with this stuff.
You know that these elections are rigged. Your network knows that they’re rigged. Do you know that I won an election in a landslide and I got 94% bad press.
KRISTEN WELKER: But Mr. President –
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: You know why I got that?
KRISTEN WELKER: -you’ve never presented –
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: Because you have no credibility.
KRISTEN WELKER: -evidence.
But you’ve never presented evidence it was rigged. Let’s keep talking about, I want to talk about Todd Blanche.
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: You have more evidence, there’s more evidence than ever presented.
KRISTEN WELKER: Let’s talk about–
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: Your elections in this country –
KRISTEN WELKER: – you went to court.
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: We’re like a third world country.
KRISTEN WELKER: But sir –
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: Your elections are crooked and you’re crooked, and Meet the Press is crooked.
KRISTEN WELKER: But Mr. President–
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: And so is ABC and CBS and CNN.
KRISTEN WELKER: But Mr. President–
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: You’re a one-sided crooked network.
Sorry. Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time.
KRISTEN WELKER: Mr. President, let’s – please, I traveled all the way to Wisconsin.
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: I’ve sat in the rain with you–
KRISTEN WELKER: I traveled all – I know.
I traveled all the way–
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: I sat in the rain with you for an hour.
KRISTEN WELKER: –to Wisconsin.
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: On and off in the rain, and I’ve given you enough time.
You ought to straighten out your press, because you know what?
KRISTEN WELKER: Mr. President–
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: A country can never be great with a dishonest press.
KRISTEN WELKER: – we traveled all – listen.
We traveled all the way to Wisconsin for this interview.
5.
Trump agrees to a future interview.
But perhaps the biggest surprise came at the very end — when Welker revealed that Trump, despite walking off, had actually agreed to a do-over.
“I spoke with President Trump on Saturday and we both acknowledged the complications during the interview posed by the rain,” Welker reported at the end of the conversation.
“He agreed to sit down with me for another Meet the Press interview.”
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