Fact Check: Are Kristen Welker's White House credentials revoked after interview with Trump?
WASHINGTON, DC: Following President Donald Trump’s recent interview with NBC's Kristen Welker, a rumor began circulating on social media platforms claiming that her White House briefing room credentials had been revoked as the president abruptly ended the interview, sparking criticism. Let us analyse and fact-check the claim’s authenticity.
Claim: White House revoked Kristen Welker's credentials
According to the online rumor, Kristen Welker’s White House briefing room credentials were revoked after the heated interview with Trump.
According to a Facebook post, Welker lost all credibility with the White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, after she lost her patience with the president on live TV.
"Ms. Welker is no longer welcome in this building," Leavitt allegedly said, "NBC should really fire her."
The claim has spread on Facebook and X, garnering hundreds of thousands of views, with many appearing to believe the rumor to be true, while others remain skeptical.
Fact Check: The claim originated from parody account
The claim, however, is false, as there are no official statements or announcements from the White House about the NBC journalist’s credentials being revoked.
A search on Google for the keywords ‘White House revoked Kristen Welker’s credentials,’ or for Leavitt’s alleged remark, yielded no relevant reports by prominent news media outlets, which, if true, would have made headlines.
Moreover, the Facebook account that first posted the claim is a parody account called ‘America’s Last Line Of Defense,’ which describes itself in the bio as ‘Nothing on this page is real.’
Trump abruptly ends interview after clashing with Kristen Welker
The 79-year-old president said the rainy weather had made him “a little bit angry,” and he implied this caused his sudden departure.
During the Meet the Press interview, held inside a barn with a metal roof, Welker asked Trump about several topics, including his election fraud claims, gas prices, the state of American farming, and the war with Iran.
However, roughly less than an hour after sitting down, Trump abruptly brought the conversation to an end, blasting Welker's questioning tactics before ripping off his microphone and storming out.
“You’re crooked, and Meet the Press is crooked, and so are ABC and CBS and CNN. One-sided crooked networks. Let’s call it quits, because I’ve had enough,” he said, before adding: “Thank you, darling. Have a good time.”
