Trump cuts off NPR interview after challenges to fraud claim

Former President Donald Trump abruptly ended an interview with NPR on Tuesday after he was pressed on his false claim of a stolen election in 2020 and how he was using that assertion to put pressure on Republicans before the 2022 midterm elections.

In the interview with Steve Inskeep, a co-host of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” Trump discussed the coronavirus pandemic and his campaign to discredit results of the 2020 election, according to a transcript of the interview NPR posted on its website Wednesday morning.

At several points in the interview, Inskeep pushed back against false claims about the 2020 election, in one instance noting the failed lawsuits by Trump’s campaign and its allies. “Your own lawyers had no evidence of fraud, they said in court they had no evidence of fraud, and the judges ruled against you every time on the merits,” Inskeep said.

After a lengthy backand-forth over the election results, Trump asked how he could have lost the presidential election to Joe Biden, who he falsely claimed did not attract crowds during the campaign.

Inskeep said: “If you’ll forgive me, maybe because the election was about you. If I can just move on to ask, are you telling Republicans in 2022 that they must press your case on the past election in order to get your endorsement? Is that an absolute?”

Trump responded: “They are going to do whatever they want to do — whatever they have to do, they’re going to do.”

He continued to speak about his false claim that the 2020 election was “rigged” while Inskeep tried to interject.

Trump then abruptly ended the interview.

“So Steve, thank you very much,” he said. “I appreciate it.”