Trump storms out of interview after being pressed on his claims of voter fraud and $1.8 billion 'slush fund'
Topics: Politics, Donald Trump, US News
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: NBC News
Topics: Politics, Donald Trump, US News
Donald Trump ending up walking out of an interview with NBC when he was pressed about his 'weaponization' fund.
Last month, the Trump administration announced that it had proposed the Anti-Weaponization Fund supposedly designed to provide financial relief to people who feel they were unfairly targeted by the government for political, ideological, or personal reasons – for example those who were arrested for being part of the 2021 Capitol riots.
The fund was announced by Trump as part of his $10 billion lawsuit he filed against the IRS over the leaking of his tax returns, said POLITICO. Under the settlement, the Department of Justice said it was setting up a $1.776 billion fund to pay out claims to 'weaponized' people or, as Attorney General Todd Blanche put it, 'victims of lawfare and weaponization'.
Some people who may be financially compensated are convicted violent rioters who attacked police officers on January 6, 2021.
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The fund has been criticized by many, including GOP Sen. Thom Tillis who called it 'a pay out for punks', per CBS News.
In an interview that aired today (June 7), Trump was grilled by Meet the Press reporter Kristen Welker. During their discussion, the president defended the so-called 'slush fund'.
He said: "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."
Trump continued to tell Welker: "I think the weaponization fund is a great idea, and so do many other Republicans.
"You have to get it approved. If they get it approved, that's great. If they don't get it approved, I'd be disappointed."
Something else they discussed was voter fraud and the subsequent Capitol riots in 2021. While there has been no evidence that the 2020 election that saw Trump lose to Joe Biden was rigged, the POTUS still stands by the fact that it was.
"The election was rigged, it was a dirty election and it’s happening again right now in California," Trump said.
When he was pressed to give evidence for his claims on several occasions, he ended up pulling the plug on the interview.
Trump said before exiting: "Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough, thank you, darling, have a good time."
Welker tried to get him to continue to conversation, but the president wasn't having it.
"I've given you enough time," Trump replied.
See the dramatic moment here:
People have since reacted to the interview and accused the president of 'gaslighting'.
Somebody commented on YouTube: "If anyone you know is unsure of what gaslighting is, just show them this interview."
A different person said: "He truly believes that people believe him! Like we are all morons. It’s incredible to watch."
While Trump has defended the Anti-Weaponization Fund, at the beginning of the month acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, said it had been scrapped.
"We are not moving forward with the fund, period," he said at a committee hearing, The Guardian reported on June 2.
Blanche continued: "The reasons for the fund is something that President Trump talked about for a long time, which is the fact that there were a lot of people in this country who had their government weaponized against them.
"The reasons for the fund, I think, remain as important as they were before, but we are not moving forward with the fund."