President Donald Trump abruptly cut short an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, which aired on June 7, local time.

Mr. Trump stormed out of the interview after moderator Kristen Welker pressed him on his claims regarding alleged fraud occurring in several local elections.

Prior to that, moderator Kristen Welker also questioned him about a compensation fund for victims of politically motivated investigations. The fund, proposed by Mr. Trump, is expected to receive a budget of $1.776 billion. Enduring a series of difficult questions during the interview ultimately tested the U.S. president’s patience.

“We are stopping right here because I’ve had enough. Thank you, lady. Have a good time,” Mr. Trump said after about four minutes of intense debate with moderator Kristen Welker.

He then stood up and walked away from the filming location. The interview had been recorded on June 5. NBC has declined to comment on the incident, while the White House has not yet responded to press requests for comment.

Specifically, during the interview, Mr. Trump began showing irritation when moderator Kristen Welker asked about the nearly $1.8 billion compensation fund.

The U.S. Department of Justice had previously agreed to establish the fund as part of a settlement with Mr. Trump to resolve a lawsuit between him, as a private U.S. citizen, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). However, the plan to establish the fund has faced legal challenges, as well as opposition from several bipartisan senators.

During the interview, Mr. Trump maintained that he still wants to establish the fund. “If it were up to me, I would pay the victims what they deserve. If they approve the creation of the fund, that’s great. If it is not approved, I will be disappointed,” Mr. Trump said.

Ms. Welker then asked whether the 172 individuals who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers during the January 6 Capitol riot would be eligible to receive money from the fund.

Mr. Trump did not rule out that possibility. He claimed that FBI agents allowed protesters inside the Capitol building and that many of the 172 individuals agreed to plead guilty only because they feared facing harsher charges.

When Ms. Welker emphasized that there is no evidence showing FBI agents led protesters into the Capitol, Mr. Trump continued to defend his stance.

Subsequently, when shifting to the issue of election fraud, Mr. Trump continued to assert that both the 2020 U.S. presidential election and the California primary election held last week were “rigged.” Ms. Welker countered that there was no evidence to substantiate those allegations.

Mr. Trump argued that the vote counting process in California, which dragged on for multiple days, was proof of his assessment. “I just look at it and I know,” Mr. Trump said. “But that is not evidence,” Ms. Welker fired back.

The tension between Mr. Trump and Ms. Welker during the interview prompted Mr. Trump to suddenly pivot to criticizing NBC and other media outlets over their reporting methods. Ultimately, he unclipped his microphone, stood up, and walked out.

Appearing at an event shortly after the recording session with NBC, Mr. Trump also mentioned the interview and suggested that bad weather was partly to blame for his irritation.

“Because it was raining, I was a little upset with them. I wasn’t happy with them. But we still had a good time,” he said on June 5.

Trump Makes Desperate Early Morning Plea After Humiliating Snub

President Donald Trump has demanded peace between Iran and Israel in a bizarre fashion.

His Middle East ceasefire took a beating when the two nations got embroiled in tit-for-tat strikes on Sunday into Monday. The timing was awkward: Trump had insisted in an interview with the Financial Times that he is the one who “calls the shots.”

He told Axios that he would call up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to demand that Israel refrain from returning fire on Iran. It is unclear if Trump called the Israeli leader, but what is clear is that Netanyahu went against his wishes, wrapping up a damaging weekend for Trump.

As missiles flew from Israel into Iran and vice versa on Monday morning, Trump came up with a diplomatic masterstroke: a grammatically questionable demand-cum-plea to stop the fighting.

“Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting,’” he wrote in a post sent out at 5:36 a.m., putting the word “shooting” in speech marks for some reason. “President DONALD J. TRUMP,” he concluded his short message in all-caps.

About an hour later, he expanded. “Both sides, Israel and Iran, are looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE!” he claimed, despite the bombing on Monday morning.

He further claimed that the talks are in the final stages. “Final negotiations on ‘Peace’ are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way. The Blockade will remain in place, and in full force and effect, until a ‘Final Deal’ is reached. Things should move quickly,” he said.