Trump blames rain for his stormy walkout from interview with Kristen Welker

WASHINGTON, DC: It wasn't Kristen Welker's grilling that sent Donald Trump storming out of his contentious NBC interview, it was the gloomy weather that pushed him over the edge.

The 79-year-old president said the rainy conditions during the interview left him “a little bit angry,” setting the stage for his abrupt departure.

During the ‘Meet the Press’ interview, which was set inside a sheltered, dry barn with a metal roof, host Welker grilled Trump on an array of topics, including his election fraud claims, gas prices, the state of American farming, and the war with Iran.

However, roughly 50 minutes 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.”

Trump says he got angry ‘because it was raining’

The President previously spoke about the pre-recorded interview in the opening remarks of an agricultural roundtable, informing attendees, “I just did an interview in the most beautiful barn I’ve ever seen.”

“But it was raining. And it was with NBC fake news. And because it was raining, I got a little bit angry at them. I was not happy with them. But we had a good time.”

ccording to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, rain pounded the barn roof throughout the event, which was billed as a roundtable discussion on challenges facing farmers, while ticketless attendees waited outside in muddy conditions.

Welker also gave a verdict on her interview, in a separate June 7 post on X, saying Trump was "unfortunately complicated by weather issues."

"Despite those challenges, we still had a substantial conversation on issues from the Iran war to the economy to the so-called 'anti-weaponization' fund," Welker said.

Trump grew agitated with Welker’s grilling

Before walking out of the interview over questions about his rigged California election claims, Trump also became irritated as Welker asked if those who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers during the January 6 riots would be eligible for funding included in Trump’s controversial “anti-weaponization” fund.

Trump also claimed, without providing evidence, that FBI agents had invited rioters into the U.S. Capitol and that many later accepted plea deals out of fear of receiving harsher prison sentences.

“You know why they pleaded guilty? Because they were told they were going to jail for 15 years … because they were frightened. They were down. They were ushered into a building,” Trump said, refusing to answer if such individuals should receive taxpayer funding.

After the interview was broadcast, Welker said: "I spoke with President Trump on Saturday and we both acknowledged the complications during the interview posed by the rain. He agreed to sit down with me for another Meet the Press interview."