"Crooked or Stupid": Trump Nukes NBC Interview, Crushes Mic on the Way Out

Trump has never made peace with the American press. But his sit-down with NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday took that long-running war to a new extreme — ending with the president walking off set, ripping off his microphone, and stamping on it as he stormed away.

Trump sat down with NBC Meet the Press anchor Kristen Welker for an exclusive interview at a farm in Wisconsin on Saturday local time.

The interview took place on Saturday at a farm in Wisconsin, where Trump sat down with anchor Kristen Welker. What started as a structured conversation escalated rapidly into an extraordinarily heated argument over allegations of electoral fraud. Both sides were visibly flushed with anger by the time Trump finally snapped, walked out mid-interview, and crushed his microphone underfoot as he left.

The flashpoint was Welker's question about the $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund." The fund was born from a major legal settlement Trump struck with the Department of Justice in May 2026. It originated when Trump withdrew a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over alleged tax information leaks, with the DOJ establishing this dedicated fund in its place. Its stated purpose: to compensate individuals or organizations who claim they were subjected to the "weaponization" of government institutions or unjust investigations during the Biden administration.

The fund ignited controversy in Washington almost immediately. Critics warned it could become a taxpayer-funded political slush fund. Democrats questioned whether Trump supporters, political allies, and even participants in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot could eventually become beneficiaries. Notably, a significant number of Republicans also voiced opposition. Last month, a court struck the fund down.

The 6 January 2021 riot and storming of the US Capitol.

That court ruling led the acting Attorney General to declare the fund permanently discontinued. Trump told Welker he still hoped to see it move forward. "If it was up to me, I’d pay them the kind of money that they deserve… People have been destroyed. Lives have been destroyed. Many suicides, think of it," he said. "If they get it approved, that’s great; if they don’t get it approved, I’d be disappointed."

Trump also insinuated that those he called "rioters" at the Capitol were in fact escorted into the building by FBI agents. He claimed the Biden administration had put innocent people in prison — but offered no evidence to support either assertion.

Trump and anchor Kristen Welker became embroiled in a fierce argument over allegations of electoral fraud.

When Welker pressed him for proof, Trump replied: "There’s a lot of evidence. There’s tremendous evidence. There’s nothing but evidence." Welker shot back: "Well, it’s not been presented in a court of law." 

Trump then pivoted to broader claims of electoral fraud. He alleged the 2020 presidential election was stolen and asserted that fraudulent practices are currently playing out in California. "The election was rigged. It was a dirty election. And it’s happening again right now in California," he said. He claimed Republican candidates' polling numbers are “dropping fast because it’s a rigged election” with the intent of eliminating Republican candidates.

California's electoral system adds important context here. Unlike most other US states, California employs a distinctive "Jungle Primary" — all candidates from all parties compete on the same ballot, and only the top two vote-getters advance to the general election.

Trump raged at the media, branding it corrupt and declaring that Meet the Press itself was "corrupt."

Welker pushed back directly: "That’s how they count the votes in California." She noted that local officials had publicly acknowledged the counting process was indeed "slow," then challenged Trump to produce evidence that California's elections were being "rigged." That's when the interview turned combustible. "They’re crooked just like you’re crooked, your press is crooked. And ‘Meet the Press’ is crooked." Then, with pointed finality Trump added: "You’re either crooked or you’re stupid."

Trump accused Welker of "playing right into their hands" and unloaded on the program's credibility in a single broadside. "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." He then fired off attacks against ABC, CBS, and CNN in one breath.

Trump abruptly terminated the interview and stormed off set in a fit of fury.

Welker pleaded with Trump to continue, noting that the NBC team had traveled all the way to Wisconsin for the interview. Trump refused, pressing his point: "I sat in the rain with you for an hour," Trump said. "On and off in the rain, and I've given you enough time. You ought to straighten out your press, because you know what? A country can never be great with a dishonest press." As he delivered those final words, he reached up to remove his microphone, stormed off in fury, and stamped on it as he walked away.

After the interview aired, Welker disclosed that she had spoken with Trump again by phone. He agreed to a follow-up interview, though she provided no details on when or where it would take place.

Trump's relationship with the American press has long been defined by extreme tension. He routinely deploys derogatory terms when referring to journalists in public.

The reality is, Trump's attacks are no longer confined to the liberal mainstream media. He has recently widened the scope of his targets to include figures from the conservative media world. On April 9, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, explicitly calling out prominent MAGA-aligned commentators who had criticized his stance on the Iran war — among them well-known podcast host Tucker Carlson, as well as Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones. He labeled these commentators "low-IQ," "nut-jobs," and "trouble-makers".

Deep Throat

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In December last year, 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa — a British man of Indian-Sikh origin — stabbed Henry Nowak, a 18-year-old white college student, five times on a Southampton street. Nowak died from his wounds. When police arrived, Digwa claimed he had been the victim of racial discrimination. Despite Nowak repeatedly telling officers "I've been stabbed, I can't breathe," police did not administer first aid. Instead, they handcuffed Nowak and treated him as a suspect in a racism case. He died after failing to receive timely treatment.

The killing of 18-year-old white British student Henry Nowak has sparked a war of words between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US billionaire Elon Musk.

On June 2 this year, the court convicted Digwa of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 21 years. The court rejected both his claim of racial discrimination and his plea of self-defense.

The verdict alone would have been significant. Then police bodycam footage of the response went online, and the debate exploded. Large-scale protests and clashes erupted in Southampton, injuring 11 police officers and resulting in two arrests. Nowak's father, speaking after sentencing, said he hoped the case would make Britain's streets safer — not be weaponized to fuel "further division, hatred or tension."

The case triggered protests in Southampton, with clashes between police and demonstrators.

That plea went largely unheeded. The case galvanized Elon Musk, the right-leaning billionaire who owns the social platform X. He posted relentlessly, accusing British law enforcement of applying "double standards." On Thursday, June 4, Prime Minister Starmer hit back, accusing Musk of "interfering in British politics" and "stoking division." The two have been trading blows from afar ever since, and the controversy has yet to subside.

US Vice President J.D. Vance joined the chorus on June 5, posting on X that Nowak's death was "the same way a civilization dies: abandoned, handcuffed by authorities who neither trusted nor cared for him, and accused of hate crimes he did not commit." The UK Prime Minister's Office condemned the post as "people trying to interfere in our democracy and stir up division in our streets". 

Musk's framing has been blunt. "The West has created an utterly evil state religion where an accusation of “racism” is the gravest offense that can be committed, even worse than rape or murder!" he wrote. He added: "So if police show up at a crime scene and a British boy is bleeding out and an immigrant says the British boy is racist the cops will cuff the dying British boy..."

The Guardian reports that Musk has been posting about the Nowak murder case for weeks, with many posts drawing heavily on far-right talking points. On June 4, Starmer met Nowak's family at Downing Street to discuss the actions of Hampshire Police. After that meeting, Starmer said he was deeply saddened and angered, and vowed not to shy away from disciplinary investigations into the officers involved. He also pledged a review of race-related policing guidelines and promised to take all necessary steps to correct the mistakes made in this case.

Starmer also praised Labour MP Jess Asato, who is taking legal action against xAI — a subsidiary of Musk's SpaceX — alleging that its AI chatbot Grok helped a user generate a false, sexually suggestive image of her.

On June 2, people protested outside Southampton police station, some holding photos of the 18-year-old victim, Nowak.

Visiting York on June 4, Starmer sharpened his attack. "We need to also assert who we are as a country, because Musk, again, has been interfering in our politics in the last few days, trying to whip up division – that is not who we are in Britain," he said.

Starmer publicly denied that "double-standard policing" exists in Britain, called Musk's exploitation of the case to inflame ethnic hatred "unforgivable," and urged the public to remain rational and tolerant — and to refuse to let a tragedy be used to deepen social rifts.

The scale of Musk's intervention is striking. Over the past week, he posted more than 110 times on X about the Nowak case and British politics. With 240 million followers, Musk has used the platform to attack the British government directly and amplify anti-immigration, far-right views across the UK.

The Guardian notes that Musk frequently shares nationalist content and is a firm supporter of "Reclaim Britain" — a far-right splinter group founded by former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe.

After police bodycam footage was released online, it ignited intense debate in the UK over policing and race.

Britain's governing Labour Party and its allies have pushed back hard. Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle highlighted "X and the misinformation that is spewing into the UK" in a speech late on Wednesday, and warned that a "tiny group of billionaires" are now showing a disproportionate interest in the lives of British people, including how they vote." Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was equally direct: "There can be no justification for hijacking this tragedy to stir up violence and disorder."

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey went further, calling the episode an organized campaign of foreign interference in British democracy, with a rogue American tech billionaire pulling the strings.

Not everyone on the right has been willing to simply condemn. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch told the BBC on June 4 that "some are exploiting conflict to create tension in order to win votes from particular groups." She warned that while such tactics may bring short-term political gains, "in the long run it risks civil strife," and called for unity rather than division.

On June 2, the court convicted Digwa of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, meanwhile, declared the Nowak murder a clear example of "two-tier policing" and urged Britons to respond with "pure cold rage," calling for an end to “culture of fear that puts minority lives on top and white ones at the bottom”. The Guardian noted that this framing — implying minorities receive more favorable treatment than white people — is a standard far-right rhetorical device.

US outlet Wired reported on June 4 that the anger generated by the Nowak case is being actively leveraged by far-right groups on both sides of the Atlantic. Social media posts have claimed that Nowak's death is proof of "antiwhite racism."

The controversy reached the level of official US government intervention on June 4, when the State Department posted condolences for Nowak's family while simultaneously criticizing Britain's "two-tiered policing". The post stated that "Ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilizational decline" and "They must be rejected across the West".

UK Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy responded on Sky News on June 5. He welcomed the US government's condolences but said he "just don’t recognize” the claim that the UK has a "two-tiered policing system".

Some analysts argue that Western governments' long-standing "diversity and equality" agendas have created a political culture in which "anti-racism is prioritized above all else."

The reality is more complicated. The Guardian notes that minority communities — particularly Black communities — already face higher stop-and-search rates and harsher sentencing in Britain. A report led by Justice Secretary David Lammy found that minorities are imprisoned at significantly higher rates than white people for certain offenses, and often receive more severe sentences after conviction.