'You're either crooked, or you're stupid': Trump goes nuclear on Kristen Welker, crushes 'Meet the Press' microphone

President Donald Trump joined Kristen Welker of NBC News' "Meet the Press" in a Wisconsin barn for an interview that aired on Sunday, covering a wide range of topics, including the war in Iran, Israel's escalating attacks against Lebanon, the economy, and the prospect of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates.

It became unmistakably clear nearly 40 minutes into the interview that the American president's patience had been sapped by Welker's incessant needling and contradictions.

'You know that these elections are rigged.'

Late in the interview, Trump defended his proposed "Anti-Weaponization Fund," which would provide compensation to victims of government weaponization, making whole those who've "been hurt so badly by radical left lunatics that worked for the Biden administration and Sleepy Joe."

Welker — whose approach does not appear to have undergone any refinements following her humiliating interviews with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — responded both by concern-mongering about restitution going to certain Jan. 6 protesters and by pushing back against the president's characterization of ex-FBI Director James Comey as a "dirty cop."

The NBC News talking head proceeded to claim, repeatedly, that the president's narrative regarding the Jan. 6, 2021, protests was baseless. Welker stated that there was "no evidence" that there were FBI agents ushering Jan. 6 protesters into the Capitol; "no evidence" that there were "dirty cops" on the scene; and "no evidence" that the Biden administration had sent innocent people to prison.

RELATED: Spencer Pratt’s 40,000-vote lead vanishes in Los Angeles mayor race as California continues counting ballots

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Welker then attempted to pivot to a different subject, but Trump refused to let her have the last word on the matter.

"There's a lot of evidence," said Trump. "Listen to me: There's tremendous evidence. There's nothing but evidence."

"Well, it's not been presented in a court of law," said Welker.

Trump, unfazed by Welker's many interruptions, stated, "The election was rigged. It was a dirty election — and it's happening again right now in California."

Welker tested Trump's patience again only to find that she had exhausted it.

After she said there was no evidence of improprieties in the California elections, Trump said, "They’re crooked just like you're crooked, your press is crooked. And 'Meet the Press' is crooked."

"To be fair, I'm not crooked," said Welker. "But let's continue."

"Really? Well, you play right into their hands then," said Trump. "You're either crooked, or you're stupid."

"You play right into their hands with this stuff. You know that these elections are rigged," continued the president. "Your network knows that they're rigged. Do you know that I won an election in a landslide, and I got 94% bad press. You know why I got that? Because you have no credibility."

The sputtering talking head's attempts to salvage the interview proved to be in vain as Trump was properly incensed.

"Your elections in this country — we're like a third-world country. Your elections are crooked, and you're crooked, and 'Meet the Press' is crooked," said Trump. "And so is ABC and CBS and CNN. You're one-sided, crooked networks. Let's call it quits. I've had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time."

Welker complained about having to travel "all the way" to Wisconsin for the interview and pleaded with Trump to stay. After leaving her with some advice — "straighten out your press" — the president rose to his feet, stepped on his lapel microphone, and marched off.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!