In an explosive interview with NBC Sunday, President Donald Trump cut the grilling short and left the set after peppering “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker with insults.
“You’re either crooked or you’re stupid,” Trump told Welker, who kept a cool demeanor despite the president’s barrage of disparaging slurs.
Moments before he attacked her, Trump — without providing any evidence — said he believes elections in the U.S. are rigged. Then he lambasted television news networks, singling out NBC, CBS and ABC.
“They’re crooked just like you’re crooked, your press is crooked. And Meet the Press is crooked,” Trump said.
“To be fair, I’m not crooked,” Welker shot back. “But let’s continue.”
“Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough,” the president told Welker, who is the second woman and first Black journalist to helm the network’s flagship program.
Trump added, “Thank you, darling. Have a good time.”
It wasn’t the first time Trump has berated a female journalist on the job covering his presidency.
In November 2025, hed told Bloomberg’s Catherine Lucey to stop talking, saying “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.” One month later, he told ABC’s Rachel Scott she was “the most obnoxious reporter in the whole place.” Last month, he called MS NOW White House reporter Akayla Gardner “a dumb person” for pointing out that the cost of his White House ballroom project had doubled since it was first announced. He has also repeatedly lashed out at CNN”s Kaitlan Collins, criticizing her for not smiling enough.
The wide-ranging interview, which was taped Saturday on a farm in Wisconsin, was interrupted by the loud sound of heavy rain on the metal roof of the barn that served as a makeshift TV set. Welker questioned Trump on his war with Iran, his so-called “anti-weaponization” fund and the upcoming midterm elections.