NBC reporters six-word claim about California elections that sparked Trump storming off
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 cou...