President Donald Trump sat down with NBC News’ Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker at a rain-soaked Wisconsin farm for a sprawling, combative interview covering the 100-day-old U.S.-Iran military conflict, nuclear deal negotiations with a wounded Supreme Leader, a strong jobs report overshadowed by war-driven inflation, the administration’s now-collapsing anti-weaponization fund, January 6 defendants, and — in a startling finale — Trump calling Welker and the entire network “crooked” and threatening to walk out. The interview contained a string of significant factual misrepresentations, including the false claim that the U.S. “lost nobody” in Venezuela, a reversal of the historical record on Iran’s nuclear escalation, and a baseless assertion that California’s vote-counting process is evidence of a rigged election. Assistance from Claude AI.
Participants
| Name | Title / Role |
|---|---|
| President Donald Trump | 47th President of the United States |
| Kristen Welker | Moderator, NBC News’ Meet the Press |
| David Gelles | NBC News producer/journalist, present at the interview location |
Where and when: The interview was conducted on a working farm in Wisconsin, with multiple interruptions from heavy rain and thunder on the metal roof. It aired on Meet the Press on Sunday, June 7, 2026 — exactly 100 days after the first U.S. strikes on Iran.
Topic-by-Topic Breakdown
Topic 1: Is the U.S. at War With Iran?
Welker opened by noting that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had declared the war “concluded,” yet Iran had just this week struck U.S. allies in retaliation for new U.S. airstrikes. She asked directly: Is the United States at war with Iran?
Trump’s answer was deliberately evasive. He declined to call it a war, preferring the phrase “military exercise,” and argued that because the U.S. military is so powerful, the scale of the conflict doesn’t rise to the level of traditional warfare in his view. “I don’t define it at all,” he said. “I just do what I have to do.”
Welker pressed the specific question of the naval blockade, noting that a blockade is technically an act of war under international law — and that Trump himself had posted on social media about “final negotiations to end the war with the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Trump acknowledged the blockade but again resisted the label. “If you want to define it as such, I guess you can,” he said.
Context for general readers: A naval blockade — where one country uses its navy to prevent ships from entering or leaving another country’s ports — is widely considered an act of war under international law because it cuts off a nation’s trade, economy, and lifelines. The U.S. currently has a blockade on Iran that Trump says is costing Iran $400–500 million per day. Whether that blockade constitutes a legal “war” matters politically (Congress has the power to declare war) and diplomatically.
⚠️ APPROXIMATELY ACCURATE WITH CONTEXT — The conflict’s status is genuinely contested. Operation Epic Fury began on February 28, 2026, when U.S. and Israeli forces launched nearly 900 strikes in the first 12 hours of what the United States dubbed the operation. Secretary Rubio declared the operation “concluded” in early May, but subsequent Iranian retaliatory strikes — and the ongoing blockade — have kept the situation in active conflict. Trump’s framing of it as a “military exercise” rather than a war is a rhetorical choice, not a legal or military definition.
Topic 2: Iran’s Military Capability — “Their Navy Is Gone”
Trump made sweeping claims about Iran’s degraded military: “Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Their anti-aircraft is gone.” He also asserted that Iran retains only about 21–22% of its original missile capacity.
Context for general readers: Operation Epic Fury was the largest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The strikes targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, military command structure, naval assets, and air defense systems in a coordinated campaign with Israel, which ran its parallel operation called Operation Roaring Lion.
⚠️ APPROXIMATELY ACCURATE WITH CONTEXT — Iran’s military was heavily degraded but “gone” overstates it. By late March, Iranian officials in the IRGC suggested Iran may push its Houthi allies in Yemen to block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to disrupt shipping in the Red Sea and further strain global markets — suggesting enough command-and-control remained for Iran to coordinate with regional proxies. Trump’s claim that Iran retains 21–22% of its missiles is classified intelligence that cannot be independently verified, though he stated it with unusual specificity on camera. Iran’s capacity for retaliation — including the recent strikes on U.S. allies that Welker cited — confirms it has not been entirely disarmed.
Topic 3: The 13 Americans Killed
Trump repeatedly referenced “13 people” killed in the Iran conflict — describing it as tragic but historically small compared to past wars. “Thirteen is too many. I don’t want to lose any,” he said. He then grouped Iran and Venezuela together as representing those 13 deaths combined.
⚠️ APPROXIMATELY ACCURATE WITH CONTEXT — 13 is CENTCOM’s confirmed combat death figure, but the total is higher. CENTCOM released 13 combat KIA as of April 8, according to Military Times. A broader tally that includes non-combat deaths brings the total to 15, including 7 direct combat deaths, 2 non-combat hostile-area related deaths, and 6 crew members killed in a KC-135 tanker crash in western Iraq on March 12 — the largest single non-combat death incident of the war. Trump’s figure of 13 reflects the official combat death count and is not fabricated, but it excludes non-combat deaths in a war zone.
Topic 4: Iran’s New Leadership — The Wounded Supreme Leader
One of the most revealing exchanges in the interview concerned Iran’s new Supreme Leader. Welker asked who was actually leading Iran after the U.S. strikes killed top officials. Trump initially declined to name anyone, then confirmed it was Mojtaba Khamenei — the son of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — playing a role in the approval process.
Context for general readers: Ali Khamenei, who led Iran with an iron grip for over 30 years, was killed in the opening strikes of Operation Epic Fury on February 28, 2026. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was subsequently elevated to Supreme Leader — but has not been seen in public since the war began. His physical condition has been the subject of intense international speculation.
When Welker asked directly whether Trump had spoken to Mojtaba, Trump said he had not. “I would if he’d like to, but I have not spoken to him directly.” Trump confirmed that Mojtaba is “very seriously injured” and declined to say where he is — though he said “there’s a good probability” he knows. Trump described the new Supreme Leader as “more rational” than his father and noted a “certain bravery” in someone seriously injured still engaging in governance.
⚠️ APPROXIMATELY ACCURATE WITH CONTEXT — Mojtaba Khamenei is confirmed injured, but his ability to govern is deeply uncertain. According to an intelligence assessment reported by The Times of Israel, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is unconscious and being treated for a “severe” medical issue, rendering him unable to govern the country. Since being chosen to lead Iran, he has not been seen or even heard from, leading to intense speculation over his condition and whereabouts, as well as to what extent he is in control of the Iranian government and military. Trump’s characterization of him as an active participant in the approval process — specifically saying that current Iranian negotiators “want to get his concurrence” — is more optimistic than what U.S. and Israeli intelligence has suggested. American and Israeli security officials have described the newly appointed supreme leader as wounded, cut off, and unresponsive to communications, though Israeli officials said clerics and IRGC commanders have consolidated their grip on the country.
Topic 5: Nuclear Deal Terms — What Is the U.S. Demanding?
Trump walked through the specific sticking points in negotiations, and this was among the more substantive portions of the interview. The main dispute involves the language around nuclear weapons: Iran has agreed not to develop nuclear weapons, but Trump said he insisted on language covering acquisition as well — that Iran cannot “develop or purchase, acquire, or buy” a nuclear weapon. He acknowledged Iran “pushed back a little” before relenting on this point.
On the question of nuclear enrichment material already buried underground — which Trump has called “nuclear dust” but is technically highly enriched uranium — Trump said U.S. B-2 bombers buried it under collapsed mountains. He claimed surveillance satellites are watching the sites constantly and that if anyone attempts to dig, the U.S. would know immediately.
Regarding lifting sanctions, Trump said clearly: “No.” Sanctions relief would come only after Iran demonstrates compliance, not as an upfront concession — an explicit contrast with the Obama-era approach.
✅ ACCURATE — The basic framework Trump described aligns with publicly known negotiating positions.
Topic 6: The JCPOA — Was the Obama Nuclear Deal a “Road to a Nuclear Weapon”?
This was the most factually contested section of the interview, with Trump making several claims about the 2015 Iran nuclear deal — formally called the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) — that ranged from misleading to false.
Context for general readers: The JCPOA, signed in 2015 by the Obama administration and five other world powers, required Iran to dramatically reduce its enriched uranium stockpile, cap its enrichment level at 3.67% (far below the 90% needed for a weapon), and allow extensive international inspections. In exchange, international sanctions were lifted. Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal in 2018. After the withdrawal, Iran steadily escalated its enrichment program.
Claim: “They were developing a nuclear weapon during the Obama administration.”
🔶 MISLEADING. According to arms control expert Laura Rockwood, the JCPOA “dramatically restricted Iran’s ability to produce fissile material and, in particular, not only placed a cap on the quantity of enriched uranium Iran could stockpile and on the level of enrichment, but required the dismantlement of two-thirds of its centrifuges and limited its ability to produce advanced centrifuges.” She concluded that “Iran simply would not have been able to enrich to the point of possessing over 400 kg of 60% enriched uranium had the JCPOA remained in place.” Iran was developing nuclear capabilities before the deal — which is precisely why the deal was negotiated. Under the JCPOA, the IAEA repeatedly verified Iran’s compliance.
Claim: “The deal expired long ago.”
❌ FALSE. The JCPOA was active and in force when Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal on May 8, 2018. Iran continued to abide by its JCPOA commitments for a full year after the U.S. withdrawal, before it began exceeding the deal’s limits in 2019. The deal had varying provisions set to expire between 10 and 15 years after its signing in 2015 — meaning core provisions would have remained in force into the early 2030s. It did not “expire.”
Claim: Iran escalated uranium enrichment despite withdrawing from the deal.
🔶 MISLEADING — the causality runs opposite to what Trump implies. In the eight years since Trump scuttled the JCPOA, Iran accumulated 11 tons of enriched uranium — up from the 660-pound limit imposed by the previous deal. After Trump’s withdrawal, Iran breached the JCPOA’s nuclear limitations, including ramping up uranium enrichment and pulling back on transparency measures the deal had established. The enrichment escalation that made military action seem urgent was a consequence of Trump’s first-term withdrawal — not proof that the deal was ineffective.
Claim: Obama “flew a Boeing 757 loaded with $1.7 billion in cash” to Iran.
🔶 MISLEADING. The $1.7 billion payment is real, but the framing distorts its nature. The Obama administration transferred $1.7 billion to Iran in January 2016 as a settlement of a decades-old legal dispute at the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal — Iran had paid the U.S. for military equipment before the 1979 revolution that was never delivered. The payment was made in foreign cash (euros and Swiss francs, not dollars) because U.S. sanctions prohibit dollar transactions with Iran. Critics argued it was poor policy and poorly timed; calling it “bribing” Iran ignores that it settled a legitimate financial claim Iran would have won anyway.
Topic 7: The “No New Wars” Promise
Welker pushed Trump on one of his signature campaign promises — “no new wars” — noting he had made it repeatedly going back to 2015 and held to it in his first term. Did he break it?
Trump’s answer was revealing: he argued he never promised no wars, then pivoted to say that if he had built the world’s strongest military, why would he have done so if he never intended to use it? He framed the Iran operation as a preemptive necessity: Iran was close to a nuclear weapon, and allowing that would have been catastrophic.
🔶 MISLEADING. Trump did make the “no new wars” pledge consistently throughout multiple campaigns. However, Trump’s broader argument — that the Iran operation was a unique threat requiring preemptive action — reflects a genuine philosophical distinction he is making between “endless wars” (which he opposes) and what he characterizes as a short, decisive military campaign against a nuclear threat.
❌ FALSE — The claim that he “built” the military from nothing. Trump claimed he “inherited a terrible military” with “no equipment” and built it. The U.S. military has been the world’s largest and most expensive force for decades, continuously maintained and upgraded across administrations. The Obama administration spent $598 billion on defense in its final year (2016). Trump increased defense spending during his first term, but the characterization that he built the military from a depleted state is false.
Topic 8: Venezuela — “We Lost Nobody”
Trump mentioned the Venezuela operation — referring to the January 2026 seizure of President Nicolás Maduro — as a comparison to the Iran campaign. “We beat Venezuela. We lost nobody. Took over the whole country.”
❌ FALSE on multiple counts.
On casualties: The 2026 U.S. intervention in Venezuela, codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve, resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife on January 3, 2026. Casualties included 23 to 47 Venezuelan military personnel, 32 Cuban military and security personnel, 2 civilians, and 7 injured U.S. soldiers. While no U.S. service members were killed, the operation was not casualty-free. An elderly woman was killed and two others were injured by alleged U.S. airstrikes which hit a home in Caracas during the operation.
On “taking over the whole country”: Following Maduro’s capture, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president, authorities declared a national state of emergency, and security forces began patrolling the streets of Caracas. Venezuela remains under Venezuelan governance — the U.S. did not “take over” the country. It captured Maduro and removed him from power.
Topic 9: The Economy — Jobs Report
Trump celebrated the May jobs report, which was released the day before the interview. Welker confirmed 170,000 jobs were created; Trump said that was “triple” the expectations.
⚠️ APPROXIMATELY ACCURATE WITH CONTEXT — the jobs number is real, but “triple” overstates the beat.
The U.S. economy added 172,000 jobs in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate remained flat at 4.3%. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had anticipated payroll growth of 88,000 for the month. That’s roughly double expectations — a strong beat — but not triple. Trump’s claim of triple is exaggerated.
The result significantly exceeded analyst expectations of around 85,000 new positions, offering a measure of stability in an economy increasingly squeezed by inflation fueled by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% in May, but wages in April had fallen below the rate of inflation, which hit 3.8% — its highest level in three years.
On stock market all-time highs: Trump claimed “73 all-time highs” during his time in office. The S&P 500 made 38 new all-time closing highs in 2025 — a strong performance, but the specific number of 73 highs across the full term was not independently verifiable. ❓ UNVERIFIABLE.
Topic 10: Gas Prices and the Iran War
Welker noted that gas prices are up, diesel is up, and 70% of farmers say they can’t afford fertilizer. Trump acknowledged higher prices but linked them directly to the Iran war, promising they will fall “lower than they were before” once the conflict is resolved.
⚠️ APPROXIMATELY ACCURATE WITH CONTEXT — the connection between the Iran conflict and fuel prices is real.
The war in Iran is causing fluctuations in oil markets and a spike in gasoline prices. Tehran clamped down on the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for oil exports, as retaliation after the U.S. and Israel launched the military operation. The question will be how well-paying job roles are as higher prices sink their teeth into workers’ wallets — average hourly earnings growth from last year, at 3.4%, is tracking lower than the pace of rising costs. Trump’s promise that prices will recover once the war ends is plausible but not guaranteed, as energy price movements depend on many variables beyond the Iran conflict.
On the $28 billion for farmers: Trump claimed he gave farmers “$28 billion” during his first term. This is approximately accurate — the Trump administration authorized roughly $28 billion in Market Facilitation Program payments to farmers hurt by Chinese retaliatory tariffs during the 2018–2019 trade war. ⚠️ APPROXIMATELY ACCURATE.
Topic 11: The Federal Reserve and Kevin Warsh
Welker raised the prospect that the new Fed chair, Kevin Warsh, may need to raise interest rates given strong job growth. Trump pushed back sharply, arguing that raising rates when the economy is doing well is backwards logic. “There’s no reason to raise interest rates,” he said. “We should actually lower interest rates.”
Context for general readers: The Federal Reserve sets the benchmark interest rate that influences borrowing costs across the entire economy — mortgages, car loans, business loans. When inflation rises, the Fed typically raises rates to slow down economic activity and cool prices. When the economy slows, it cuts rates to stimulate growth. The tension is that a strong jobs report can signal potential inflation — which makes the Fed more inclined to raise rates, even when the president might prefer the opposite.
✅ ACCURATE — Warsh is the new Fed chair. Kevin Warsh, 56, is the 11th Fed chair of the modern banking era, succeeding Jerome Powell, who served eight years. Powell will continue to serve at the Fed as a governor, and Trump has said he would not seek to remove him from that role.
⚠️ APPROXIMATELY ACCURATE — Trump correctly identifies a genuine economic tension. The CME FedWatch Tool shows almost no chance for a 2026 rate cut and — after recent bearish Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index data — factors in a much higher chance of an inflation-fighting rate hike. Trump’s preference for rate cuts aligns with Warsh’s general inclinations, but with inflation spiking and Treasury yields surging, Warsh is likely to confront a Federal Open Market Committee in no mood to ease.
Topic 12: The Anti-Weaponization Fund
Welker asked about the administration’s proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” — a program that would compensate people who claim the federal government unfairly targeted them — which has been blocked by courts and faced rare Republican opposition.
Context for general readers: The anti-weaponization fund was announced by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and quickly became one of the most controversial proposals of Trump’s second term. Critics called it a “slush fund” for Trump allies, particularly because it was created in exchange for Trump dropping a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS — raising immediate conflict-of-interest concerns. The fund faced opposition from roughly half the Senate Republican conference, a remarkable show of intra-party defiance.
Trump said he personally supports the fund, describing it as compensation for “people destroyed by crooked politicians.” He called it “a great idea” but acknowledged it requires congressional approval.
✅ ACCURATE — The fund’s status is as Welker described. The Trump administration formally told federal courts it is abandoning the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, with Justice Department lawyers arguing the lawsuits challenging it should be dismissed as moot because the program is not going forward. Trump himself gave mixed signals about the fund’s future, saying he doesn’t know if it’s fully dead. Trump’s on-camera position — that he supports it personally but it needs to go through proper approval — is consistent with his public mixed signals.
The fund was created in exchange for President Trump agreeing to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS as well as two civil claims related to the Russia investigation and the 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago, sparking accusations of self-dealing and a bipartisan uproar.
Topic 13: January 6 Defendants and the Anti-Weaponization Fund
Welker asked directly: should people who attacked police officers on January 6 receive taxpayer money from the fund?
Trump’s answer was convoluted but significant. He said he wouldn’t be “inclined” to pay people who attacked officers, then immediately pivoted to the claim that most people were “ushered” into the Capitol by FBI agents, and that guilty pleas resulted from fear of long sentences rather than actual guilt.
Welker stated that 172 people had pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers. Trump responded: “You know why they pled guilty? Because they told they were going to jail for 15 years if they didn’t.”
❌ FALSE — The claim that FBI agents ushered protesters into the Capitol.
This is a long-running conspiracy theory without credible supporting evidence. On the first day of his second term, Trump granted blanket clemency to nearly all individuals convicted of or charged with offenses related to the January 6 insurrection. The White House also published a page on its website describing defendants as “unfairly targeted, overcharged, and used as political examples” and characterizing the attack as a security failure — while repeating claims of a “fraud-ridden election,” which have been widely discredited. The idea that FBI agents were orchestrating the entry of participants is contradicted by thousands of hours of video footage, the testimony of Capitol Police officers, and more than 1,000 criminal convictions secured through trials and guilty pleas.
🔶 MISLEADING — On guilty pleas resulting from coercion. While it is true that plea deals often involve significant pressure and involve trading a plea of guilty for a reduced sentence, this is a feature of the U.S. criminal justice system broadly — not evidence that the defendants were innocent. Many January 6 defendants who went to trial were also convicted.
Topic 14: California Election Fraud Claims
The interview’s most heated exchange came when Trump — having already been pushed back on the anti-weaponization fund and January 6 — pivoted to claiming California’s ongoing vote count in a recent election was evidence of a “rigged” election. “They’re crooked,” he said. “It’s four days and they aren’t even close to coming up with” a winner.
Welker noted this is how California legally counts votes: state law allows mail ballots to be counted if postmarked by election day, even if received days later.
❌ FALSE. California’s extended vote-counting process is established state law, consistently applied, and produces results that have been certified without credible evidence of fraud in repeated elections. The slower pace of California results is a known feature of the state’s mail-in voting system — not a sign of manipulation. Welker correctly noted that state and local officials acknowledge the process is slow and are urging faster counting.
Trump’s claim — “All I have to do is look. All I have to do is look” — when challenged for evidence illustrates what fact-checkers identify as conspiratorial thinking: treating a personal suspicion as proof, and refusing to engage with structural explanations for observed phenomena.
Topic 15: The Near-Walkout — “You’re Either Crooked or Stupid”
The interview ended in an extraordinary confrontation. After Trump accused NBC News, Welker personally, ABC, CBS, and CNN of being “one-sided crooked networks,” Welker told him she was not crooked but simply a journalist. Trump replied: “Really? Well, you play right into their hands then. You’re either crooked or you’re stupid.”
He then announced: “Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time.”
Welker pleaded that she had traveled all the way to Wisconsin for the interview. Trump cited the rain they had both endured (“I sat in the rain with you for an hour”) before apparently agreeing to continue — though the transcript ends there, suggesting the interview concluded at this point.
This exchange followed Trump’s pattern of attacking the press when fact-checked or pressed on inconsistencies. It also came immediately after Welker challenged him on presenting no evidence that the 2020 election was rigged — a claim that has failed in more than 60 courts of law.
Notable Exchanges
On whether he knew where Mojtaba Khamenei is: “I don’t want to say whether or not I know where he is. But there’s a good probability that I do.”
On his red line for resuming military action: “My red line would be if I think I wasn’t going to make a deal, or if I wasn’t going to make a deal fast enough.”
On the JCPOA’s legality: “That deal was tantamount to giving them a nuclear weapon. It was a horrible deal, given by Barack Obama.” — Misleading. The deal delayed Iran’s nuclear program significantly; Iran’s breakout to weapons capability accelerated after the deal’s collapse.
On Iran’s remaining capacity: “I know almost to the number” how many missiles Iran has left — but declined to say publicly.
On the Middle East quagmire: “It’s not a quagmire. [We] just wiped out the military of a very dangerous country. And I wiped out the nuclear threat.”
MLA Citation
Welker, Kristen. “Read the Transcript: Trump Interviewed by NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’ Moderator Kristen Welker.” NBC News, 7 June 2026, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/read-transcript-president-donald-trump-interviewed-nbc-news-meet-press-rcna348508.