An NBC News reporter’s comments about California’s elections and the 2020 presidential race sparked President Trump to storm off their interview Sunday.
Kristen Welker sparred with the commander-in-chief over his claims the state’s voting was rigged as they take so long and Democrat candidates suddenly seen a late stream of votes from mail-in ballots.
“That’s how they vote in California,” Welker replied after Trump pointed to the state’s still-unfinished ballot count as proof that something nefarious was happening.
The tense moment came during an interview on Meet the Press, when the president revived his longstanding allegations about election integrity while discussing California’s primaries.
The exchange became increasingly heated before Trump accused the network of bias and cut the interview short.
“It’s happening again right now in California,” Trump said, referring to the state’s vote-counting process. “This is happening right now in California, right now. It’s four days.”
The president was referring to the fact that several high-profile California races remain too close to call as election officials continue processing ballots.
Among the contests drawing national attention is the race to replace term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom.
After roughly 6.7 million ballots had been counted — about 71% of the expected statewide vote — Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra led with 1 27.0%. Republican Steve Hilton followed closely behind wwith 26.1%, while Democrat Tom Steyer trailed in third place with 21.3%.
The Los Angeles mayoral contest also remains tight.
Reality television star Spencer Pratt holds 27.3% of the vote, while Democratic rival Traci Park Raman has climbed to 26.2%, leaving the candidates separated by just 7,494 votes, according to the Associated Press.
Welker noted that Republicans appeared to be performing strongly on election night, referring to candidates such as Hilton and Pratt.
But Trump said as additional ballots have been counted, both races have tightened, prompting him to suggest the results were being manipulated.
Election experts note that California’s vote-counting process routinely takes significantly longer than many other states because of its voting laws.
Californians can vote by mail, cast ballots at vote centers, use secure drop boxes or vote provisionally. Election officials are allowed to process mail ballots before Election Day by verifying signatures and preparing envelopes, but votes cannot be tabulated until polls close.
California also accepts ballots that arrive after Election Day as long as they were postmarked on time. In addition, voters have up to 14 days to correct certain signature or identification issues, extending the time needed to finalize results.
By contrast, states such as Florida and Texas often report near-complete unofficial results on election night because they process large numbers of mail ballots before Election Day and impose stricter deadlines for receiving ballots.
As Trump continued to insist that delayed results were evidence of wrongdoing, Welker repeatedly challenged him, arguing there was no evidence to support claims that California’s elections had been rigged.
The back-and-forth ultimately culminated with the president ending the interview early, telling the NBC host he had “had enough.”
