NBC caught the coveted first post-election Regime Media interview of President-Elect Donald Trump. Meet the Depressed host Kristen Welker’s sit-down with the once and future president featured some newsworthy items, but was mostly a showcase for her blatant deceptions.
WATCH, for example, as Welker regurgitates the debunked and ridiculed lie about migrants not taking over apartment complexes in Colorado (click “expand” to view transcript):
Why no one trusts the media, part infinity: NBC's Kristen Welker repeats the well-debunked lie that violent migrant gangs DID NOT take over apartment complexes in Colorado pic.twitter.com/UW6PcDWvmQ
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) December 8, 2024
DONALD TRUMP: And the Venezuelan are the worst in the world. They’re vicious, violent people. And you see what they've done in Colorado and other places. They’re taking over- literally taking over apartment complexes and doing it with impunity. They don't care. They couldn’t- they’re just, I’m telling you- they're in the real estate business.
KRISTEN WELKER: You know the local police say they’re- that is not the case in Colorado.
TRUMP: Oh, it's totally the case. I mean’ they have it on tape.
WELKER: You don't believe the local police?
TRUMP: I play it- I used to play it at my rallies every single night. No. It was- they’re breaking into doors, they’re taking over the building.
WELKER: But, Sir, you raise the point…
TRUMP: And, by the way, the police…
WELKER: Yeah.
TRUMP: The police are afraid to do anything.
That moment was an immediate callback to Vice President-Elect JD Vance’s annihilation of ABC’s Martha Raddatz over the same issue, but Welker took it a step further by denying that the takeovers ever happened. Even Raddatz stipulated to three apartment complexes taken over by Tren de Aragua. The exchange proves that facts are secondary to the media’s practice of reflexive fact-checking, even when the facts are not in dispute.
The exchange on immigration occurred shortly thereafter. After promising to work on legalization of the “DREAMers”, Trump vowed to end birthright citizenship (click “expand” to view transcript):
TRUMP on birthright citizenship: "We have to end it." pic.twitter.com/FHS9XZo9mn
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) December 8, 2024
WELKER: Let me ask you about some of your other promises on this topic.
TRUMP: Okay.
WELKER: You promised to end birthright citizenship on Day One. Is that still your plan?
TRUMP: Yeah, absolutely.
WELKER: The 14th Amendment, though, says that, quote, “all persons born in the United States are citizens.” Can you get around the 14th Amendment with an executive action?
TRUMP: Well, we’re going to have to get a change. We’ll maybe have to go back to the people. But we have to end it. We're the only country that has it. You know?
WELKER: Through an executive action?
TRUMP: You know we're the only country that has it. You know, if somebody sets a foot- just a foot. One foot, you don't need two. On our land. Congratulations, you are now a citizen of the United States of America! Yes, we're going to end that, because it's ridiculous. Do you know…?
WELKER: Through executive action?
TRUMP: Well, if we can, through executive action. I was going to do it through executive action but then we had to fix Covid first, to be honest with you. We have to end it.
Again, Welker with the fake fact-check predicated on a lie. The lie, in this case, is Welker’s incomplete reading of the 14th Amendment, a fact not lost on Senator Mike Lee (R-UT):
🧵1. @MeetThePress omits six words about birthright citizenship from the 14th Amendment
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) December 8, 2024
The omitted text is set off by asterisks:
“All persons born … in the United States, *and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,* shall be citizens of the United States”
Those words matter https://t.co/qVYld0O4og
“Subject to the jurisdiction thereof” in this context is a significant bad-faith omission that presumes an entitlement to U.S. citizenship. Birthright citizenship has never faced a significant challenge, and it is ripe for exploration given the millions of illegal migrants that have streamed over the border over the last four years.
On abortion, Welker tried to engage Trump on access to the abortifacient pill, which Trump turned into a point on the pardon of Hunter Biden (click “expand” to view transcript):
Trump to Welker on abortion pill availability: "I hate to go on shows, like Joe Boden: 'I'm not going to give my son a pardon...' I watched this, and I always knew he was going to give him a pardon. And so to- I don't like putting myself in a position like that." pic.twitter.com/2YCn9noChz
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) December 8, 2024
WELKER: Will you restrict the availability of abortion pills when you're in office?
TRUMP: Probably we’re- I'll probably stay with exactly what I've been saying for the last two years. And the answer is "No".
WELKER: You commit to that?
TRUMP: Well, I commit. I mean, are things- do things change? I think they change. I hate to go on shows like, Joe Biden, “I’m not going to give my son a pardon. I will not under any circumstances give him a pardon.” I watched this, and I always knew he was going to give him a pardon. And so did- I don’t like putting myself in a position like that. So things do change. But I don’t think it’s going to change at all.
After the exchange on weaponization of government, Welker delves into the nomination of Kash Patel as Director of the FBI (click “expand” to view transcript):
Trump on FBI Director Wray: "I'm very unhappy with the things he's done." pic.twitter.com/38wbCJxowW
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) December 8, 2024WELKER: Sir, are you going to fire the current FBI Director, Christopher Wray, who you appointed?
TRUMP: Well, I can't say I'm thrilled with him. He invaded my home -- I'm suing the country over it. He invaded Mar-a-Lago. I'm very unhappy with the things he's done. And crime is at an all-time high. Migrants are pouring into the country that are from prisons and from mental institutions, as we've discussed. I can't say I'm thrilled. I don't want to say- I don’t want to- again, I don't want to be Joe Biden and give you an answer and then do the exact opposite.
WELKER: We're going to talk about that.
TRUMP: So I'm not going to do that. What I'm going to say is, I certainly cannot be happy with him. You take a look at what's happened. And then when I was shot in the ear, he said, “oh, maybe it was shrapnel.” Where's the shrapnel coming from? Is it coming- is it coming from Heaven? I don't think so. So we need somebody to straighten- you know, I have a lot of respect for the FBI. But the FBI's respect has gone way down over the last number of years.
WELKER: Don't you have to fire him in order to make room for Kash Patel if he is, in fact, confirmed?
TRUMP: Well, I mean, it would sort of seem pretty obvious that if Kash gets in he’s going to be taking somebody's place, right? That somebody is the man you’re talking about.
Welker took another pass at retribution, at the 2020 election, and at blaming Trump for the divisions in the country, getting shot down on all three premises (click “expand” to view transcript):
Welker takes another pass at retribution and gets shot down: pic.twitter.com/DnfbtZSdfS
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) December 8, 2024
WELKER: Sir, I don't have to tell you this, because you've talked about it. It comes at a time when the country is deeply divided and now you're going to be leading this country for the next four years. For the sake of unifying this country, will you concede the 2020 election and turn the page on that chapter?
TRUMP: No. No. Why would I do that? But let me just tell you…
WELKER: You won't ever concede?
TRUMP: When you say the country is deeply divided. I'm not the president. Joe Biden is the president.
WELKER: But you're going to be the president.
TRUMP: No, no. I'm not the president. So when you say it's deeply divided, I agree, but Biden's the president, I'm not. And he has been a divider. And you know where he divided it more than anything else and it probably backfired on him, I think definitely, is weaponization. When he weaponized the Justice Department and went after his political opponent, me. He went after his political opponent violently, because he knew he couldn't beat him. And I think it really was a bad thing. And it really divided our country.
WELKER: Sir, Democrats have control of The White House now, they didn't in 2020. If they are going around stealing elections --
TRUMP: Are you saying Democrats have control? Now?
WELKER: Of The White House.
TRUMP: Yeah.
WELKER: So why didn't they steal this election, since they have more power now?
TRUMP: Because I think it was too big to rig.
WELKER: So you won't --
TRUMP: Too big to rig.
WELKER: To the people who say that you're now directing your Justice Department to investigate the 2020, and they want to move on, is that a good use of precious resources…
TRUMP: I have very capable- I think Pam is going to be great.
WELKER: Is that what you want them to do?
TRUMP: By the way. Just so you know, I have the right to do that, but I'm not interested in that.
WELKER: Oh, you're not? You're not going to do that.
TRUMP: I'm not interested -- I have the absolutely right. I'm the chief law enforcement officer. You do know that? I'm the president. I'm the- but I’m not interested in that. You know what I’m interested in? Drilling and getting prices down and stopping people from pouring into our border that come from prisons and mental institutions.
Individual analyses will vary on what the main takeaway from this interview might be, but I was struck by this Trump quote towards the end of the Meet the Press broadcast: “I have to bring civilization back to our country.” (click “expand” to view transcript):
The most significant quote from the @realDonaldTrump-Welker interview, a generational quote:
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) December 8, 2024
"I have to bring civilization back to our country." pic.twitter.com/8v46xEFmGB
WELKER: I want to ask you, Sir, one final question. What do you want to say to Americans who didn't support you in this campaign?
TRUMP: I'm going to treat you every bit as well as I have treated the greatest MAGA supporters. There's never been anything like MAGA in the history of this country. These people are so dedicated to making America great again, it's very simple. And I'm going to treat them just the same as I treat MAGA. We’re going to treat everybody good. We want success for our country, we want safety for our country. Our country is under threat, as you know. We have a tremendous threat militarily because of the power of weapons and weaponries. It's a tremendous threat. Nobody talks about it, but it's a tremendous threat. I want to treat everybody the same. I want to treat them well. And at the end of this four years, and I'll have a big head start, because I was there for four years fairly recently. A lot of bad things were done during the four years that I wasn't there. And mostly in what they've done, in terms of our reputation overseas…our reputation is so bad, so shot, I've got to bring it back. And I also have to -- I have to bring back civilization to our country. Our country is a crime pod. We have to get rid of crime. We have so many things to do. We have to do the prices, we have to do all of that. But we have to get the criminals out of our country. We have to bring down crime. People have to be able to walk across the street and buy a loaf a bread without being shot. And that's going to happen. But what I say to them is, I love you, and we're going to all work together. And we're going to bring it together. And you know what's going to bring it together? Success. I saw, just prior to Covid coming in, I had polls that were the highest anyone -- (John) McLaughlin and (Tony) Fabrizio said, “George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, if they came back from the dead and ran as president and vice president couldn't beat you, sir.” We were doing so well. And I was getting along with the left. Let's call it the left. We'll be nice. We'll just call it -- but I was getting along with people that you would consider liberal or Progressive, as they like to say, at levels that I never thought was possible. You know what it was? Success. Success was bringing the country together, and that’s what I want to do.
Is this interview a preview of what the next four years will look like? Probably not. As one presidency transitions to the next, it is not unreasonable to expect the media to transition from Regime to Resistance. But today, we have a glimpse. A media insistent on plodding forward with fake narratives, and a President Trump that plows right through them.
Exit question: how many people will have watched the Meet the Press interview versus the Joe Rogan interview? Those 24-hour splits will be WILD.