U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a roundtable on “American Agriculture” at the Custer Farm in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, June 5, 2026.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump abruptly left a taped interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” after being questioned about evidence of his controversial “weaponized” fund and persistent claims of election fraud.
In a taped interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker from his farm in Wisconsin, President Trump touched on the Iran war, the possibility of interest rate hikes and a $1.776 billion “weaponization” fund that would financially compensate violent rioters convicted of attacking police officers on January 6, 2021. Thousands of people stormed the Capitol that day and tried to disrupt the certification of former President Joe Biden. 2020 election victory.
The president said he hopes the Weaponization Fund will move forward despite such setbacks that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced a permanent suspension of the Weaponization Fund.
President Trump said of the fund, “If it were up to me, I would pay these people what they deserve.” “People have been destroyed. Lives have been destroyed. There are many suicides. Think about it.” The president has repeated such claims without providing evidence.
The fund was established after a settlement that ended President Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the disclosure of tax information in 2019 and 2020, in exchange for a so-called weaponization fund intended to compensate people who claim to be victims of the “law.”
“I think the Weaponization Fund is a great idea,” he said. “It would be great if it was approved, but it would be disappointing if it wasn’t.”
The settlement also provides that Trump, his family and related entities will be permanently protected from tax audits and enforcement related to tax returns filed before the out-of-court settlement.
But it is the Weaponization Fund that has caused the most controversy. The fund quickly became a lightning rod on Capitol Hill, with many Republicans pushing back against the White House and opposing the fund. The fund was blocked in court last month.
President Trump has suggested that the Jan. 6 rioters were led to the Capitol by the FBI, a claim that has been widely contradicted by no evidence and by footage of rioters beating Capitol Police officers who were defending the building.
Pro-Trump demonstrators storm the U.S. Capitol during a clash with police during a rally to object to Congress’ certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021.
Shannon Stapelton Reuters
Asked by NBC for evidence of these claims, President Trump moved on to claims of election fraud that he has made for years but has not been able to prove in court.
“It was a fraudulent election, it was a dirty election, and now it’s happening again in California,” he said, referring to the state’s mayoral and gubernatorial primaries, where votes are still being counted.
California will send mail-in ballots to all registered voters and will accept ballots that arrive within a week and are postmarked on or before Election Day. This often results in a slow vote count. Republicans have long claimed fraud because votes for Democratic candidates often outnumber those for their Republican opponents after late-arriving ballots are counted.
President Trump claimed, “They are rigging the election.” Asked for evidence, Trump insisted: “All I have to do is watch…and listen to the people and see what happens.”
“Do you think it’s a good situation for them to hold an election and five days later they’re not even close to determining a winner?” he said. “They’re crooked, just like you’re crooked. Your news outlets are crooked, and ‘Meet the Press’ is crooked.”
Mr. Welker tried to ask Mr. Trump for evidence to back up his claims, but Mr. Trump would not provide it and repeatedly directed Mr. Trump to questions about acting director Blanche before the president ended the interview and left the set.
“That’s enough, let’s call it a day. Thank you, darling, have a good time,” the president said, crushing his lapel microphone under his foot as he left.
