NBC host Kristen Welker suggested that President Donald Trump struck a more conciliatory tone after he stormed out of their “Meet the Press” interview recently.
“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,’” she told Vanity Fair in a story posted Thursday.
Tension mounted in the Sunday-aired interview as Trump baselessly insisted that FBI agents ushered in the pro-Trump mob who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and that the 2020 election was rigged; and so was the recent California election.
As rain pelted the Wisconsin barn that served as a makeshift set, Welker pushed back at the claims while asking for evidence that Trump failed to produce. The resistance ignited his fury and eventual exit.
HuffPost has reached out to NBC and the White House to see if a second date has been set up for those two.
Welker previously hinted at the tenor of her chat with the president in the immediate aftermath.
But in the moment Trump was in full rage mode, calling Welker “crooked” multiple times and also “stupid” as he barked about the media.
Then his hissy hit a crescendo.
“All right, let’s call it quits cause I’ve had enough,” he said. “Thank you, darling. Have a good time.”
As Welker pleaded that she had traveled “all the way to Wisconsin” (which she regrets, VF reports), Trump said, “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.”
“C’mon, let’s go,” he said to his handlers as he stood up, touched Welker on the shoulder and shuffled off the set.
Trump’s combative attitude toward journalists, particularly women, has come into sharper focus lately with his treatment of CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
Welker said it comes with the job.
She told Vanity Fair, “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.”
