Spin Cycle: Trump Takes On NBC Anchor In Combative "Meet The Press" Interview

President Donald Trump sat down with host Kristen Welker for a full length
interview on Sunday�s �Meet the Press� � and throughout the conversation, he
often paused to challenge the mainstream media narratives and the framing
Welker chose for her questions.

For those who don�t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television � and
their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week�s worth of network
and cable news media spin � The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of
what you may have missed.

Trump�s repeated jabs at Welker during the interview reflect the tone that
most associated with his second administration have taken with members of the
press � and the tone that Trump himself exhibited in a previous wide-ranging
interview with ABC News anchor Terry Moran � making his interview the perfect
summary of a week in legacy media narratives.

Welker began the interview with questions about the economy, asking Trump
whether he deserved credit  � or blame � for the general direction the
economy has taken during the first 100 days of his administration. The
president threaded the needle a bit on that question, noting that some policy
changes impact the economy more quickly than others � meaning that some of
the current economic numbers were still a direct result of policies
implemented by former President Joe Biden.

To Welker, who asked whether the economy was truly a Trump economy, the
president replied, �I think certain aspects of it are. Costs are. I was able
to get down the costs, but even that, it takes awhile to get them down but we
got them down good. � We lost $5-6 billion a day [on trade] with Biden � $5-6
billion. And I�ve got that down to a great number right now in a record
time.�

NBC: Is this now your economy, sir?@POTUS: �I think certain aspects
of it are. Costs are. I was able to get down the costs� We lost $5-6
billion a day with Biden� and I�ve got that down to a great number
right now in a record time.� pic.twitter.com/Qy2LkRzsm2

� Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 4, 2025

NBC News, true to form, published that same clip under a headline suggesting
that Trump was passing off the less positive economic numbers on Biden �
without noting that the president was right when he said that some policies
took longer to show results than others might.

President Trump says �good parts� of economy are his and �bad parts
are the Biden economy� https://t.co/9mEbnABSAq

� Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) May 4, 2025

Welker pressed the president on the tariffs, arguing that there were some
small businesses hurt by the initial impact � but Trump immediately
challenged her framing of the issue.

�You pick a couple of little businesses. What about the car business? They�re
going to make a fortune because of the tariffs � the head of the union who
was no fan of mine � now he�s saying� �We�ve been waiting 40 years for
somebody to do what Trump is doing.'�

.@POTUS calls out Fake News NBC: �You pick [out] a couple of little
businesses. What about the car business? They�re going to make a
fortune because of the tariffs� the head of the union who was no fan
of mine� now he�s saying� �We�ve been waiting 40 years for somebody
to� pic.twitter.com/iVSAr0w9UZ

� Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 4, 2025

When the topic turned to illegal immigration, Trump referenced what Attorney
General Pam Bondi has labeled the �real constitutional crisis� � the fact
that Democrats and a number of carefully-shopped district court judges have
attempted to overwhelm the system by forcing the Trump administration to
adjudicate every illegal immigrant�s individual case prior to ordering
deportation.

�The big emergency right now is that we have thousands of people that we want
to take out � and we have some judges that want everybody to go to court,�
Trump said, arguing that based on the numbers, it would take hundreds of
years to process every illegal immigrant through the court system. �We have
millions of people. We�re going to have millions of court cases?�

.@POTUS: �The big emergency right now is that we have thousands of
people that we want to take out � and we have some judges that want
everybody to go to court � We have millions of people. We�re going
to have millions of court cases?� pic.twitter.com/Eli9acE8Dd

� Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 4, 2025

Welker pressed Trump on whether or not he believed everyone in the United
States � whether citizen or not � was entitled to due process and the right
to plead their case before a judge, and Trump�s reply was simple: �I don�t
know, I�m not a lawyer.�

�We have thousands of people � some of the worst, most dangerous on earth �
and I was elected to get them the hell out of here and the courts are holding
me from doing it,� Trump added.

.@POTUS: �We have thousands of people � some of the worst, most
dangerous on earth � and I was elected to get them the hell out of
here and the courts are holding me from doing it.�
pic.twitter.com/uNJESyWas1

� Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 4, 2025

NBC�s interpretation of that exchange was slightly different: �Trump, asked
if he has to �uphold the Constitution,� says, �I don�t know�.�

https://t.co/e8soBQtkKq

� Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) May 4, 2025

Welker went on to challenge Trump�s actions regarding certain political
adversaries � in particular those who were directly involved in prosecuting
the legal cases against him � asking whether he was making matters worse by
stripping their security clearances.

�You said you wanted to unify the country. Does going after political foes
undercut that goal?� she asked.

Trump, who has often said that the cases against him were entirely political
in nature, said no � the goal was to make sure that the people filling such
roles were �honest people.�

Welker: �You said you wanted to unify the country. Does going after
political foes undercut that goal?�@POTUS: �No. We want honest
people.� pic.twitter.com/ESGFrufqPC

� Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 4, 2025

�What do you say to those who believe you are taking the country down an
authoritarian path?� Welker asked, provoking an immediate reaction from
Trump.

�There you go again. Why don�t you ask in a different way? Many people want
to come into our country. Many people love Trump � I won the popular vote,�
Trump said. �They had their chance at the election, and they lost big.�

NBC: What do you say to those who believe you are taking the country
down an authoritarian path?@POTUS: �There you go again. Why don�t
you ask in a different way? Many people want to come into our
country. Many people love Trump� I won the popular vote� they had
their� pic.twitter.com/XFx4X21jfF

� Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 4, 2025

Welker even asked Trump about rumors that he was actively considering running
for a third term as president � rumors that the president quickly laughed
off.

�I�m looking to have four great years and turn it over to somebody � ideally
a great Republican, a great Republican � to carry it forward,� Trump said.
�Four years is plenty of time to do something really spectacular.�

�I�m looking to have four great years and turn it over to somebody �
ideally a great Republican, a great Republican � to carry it
forward,� says @POTUS.

�Four years is plenty of time to do something really spectacular.�
pic.twitter.com/pK6t6X3AiA

� Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 4, 2025