As she stood right in front of him, NBC White House reporter Kristen Welker yelled at President Donald Trump as she argued illegal immigration policy with him during an impromptu press conference on the North Lawn of the White House Friday morning. Trump took questions from the press following a one-on-one interview with Fox News Channel co-host of Fox & Friends Steve Doocy.
President Trump addresses NBC News reporter Kristen Welker (foreground) as she argues immigration policy with him at a press gaggle, June 15, 2018, screen image.
Kristen Welker, image via Twitter avatar.
Welker interrupted Trump as he responded to a reporter who was accusing him of lying about illegal alien family separation at the border. Welker cut Trump off and yelled at him, “You’re the President. You can change it right now,” and then proceeded to argue with him.
NBC News posted a video clip to Twitter, “”You’re the president — you can change it right now,” @kwelkernbc tells President Trump while questioning him on his administration’s policy to separate children from their parents at the border.”
NBC is incorrect in their tweet, Welker didn’t ask Trump one question on family separation; she argued and argued and argued with President Trump.
"You're the president — you can change it right now," @kwelkernbc tells President Trump while questioning him on his administration's policy to separate children from their parents at the border. pic.twitter.com/w6s3tWOzua
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 16, 2018
Longer video by CBS shows Welker was constantly trying to interrupt President Trump as he answered questions.
This video embed below is set to start at the point where the transcript on family separation picks up. (Note for some reason, the White House trancript did not include the President telling an accusatory reporter that he is not a liar.
White House transcript of the exchange (annotated by TGP).
Q Mr. President, do you agree with children being taken away from (inaudible)?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I hate it. I hate the children being taken away. The Democrats have to change their law. That’s their law. They will force —
Q Sir, that’s your own policy. That’s your own policy. Why do you keep lying about it, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: (I’m not a liar) Quiet. That’s the Democrats’ law. We can change it tonight. We can change it right now. I will leave here —
Q (Welker argues) You’re the President. You can change it right now.
THE PRESIDENT: I will leave here — no, no. You need their votes. You need their votes. (Welker argues, yells, You got 51 votes!) The Democrats, all they have to do —
Q (Welker argues) Mr. President, you control both chambers of Congress. The Republicans do.
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me. By one vote? We don’t need it. You need 60 votes.
Q (Inaudible.)( Welker argues: At the White House)
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me. We have the one vote — excuse me. We need a one-vote — we have a one-vote edge. We need 60. So we need 10 votes. We can’t get them from the Democrats.
Q What about executive action?
THE PRESIDENT: Now, wait. Wait. You can’t do it through an executive order.”
Q On North Korea, sir. On North Korea.
Q Mr. President, why —
(Welker argues as other reporters try to to ask questions. Trump asks for order from the cacophony.)
THE PRESIDENT: Can we do one question at a time? Wait. One question at a time.
Q (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: The children can be taken care of quickly, beautifully, and immediately. The Democrats forced that law upon our nation. I hate it. I hate to see separation of parents and children. The Democrats can come to us as they actually are — in all fairness, we are talking to them — and they can change the whole border security.
We need a wall. We need border security. We got to get rid of catch-and-release. You catch a criminal, you take his name, you release him, and he never shows up again. He goes into our society, and then we end up getting him in a different way, oftentimes after he’s killed somebody. We’ve got to change our laws. The Democrats have control because we don’t have the votes. The Republicans need — we need more Republicans, frankly. And that’s why I think we’re going to do so well in the midterms. That and because —
Q Do you support the immigration compromise, Mr. President?
THE PRESIDENT: Wait. That and because we have the strongest economy in the history of our nation. We have the best jobs numbers in the last 44 years. Top of Drudge: “The best job numbers in 44 years.”
Q But then, Mr. President — but then why did Jeff Sessions announce a zero-tolerance policy at the border on May 7th? Is that not a Republican —
THE PRESIDENT: Because he’s following the law.
Q Is that not a Republican policy?
THE PRESIDENT: No.
Q Is that not a Republican policy?
THE PRESIDENT: No. He’s following laws. He following a law that —
Q But that was a direct order to —
THE PRESIDENT: Can I answer your question, please?
Q Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay? You’re just asking me the same question over and over. He’s following laws, very simply, that were given to us and forced upon us by the Democrats.
Q That’s not true, sir. That’s not true.
Q (Welker argues) But there’s no law that says families have to separated at the border. There’s another way to go about it, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: The Democrats gave us the laws. Now, I want the laws to be beautiful, humane, but strong. I don’t want bad people coming in. I don’t want drugs coming in. And we can solve that problem in one meeting. Tell the Democrats, your friends, to call me.
