US President Donald Trump abruptly ended a televised interview after a heated exchange with NBC’s Meet the Press host Kirsten Welker over his claims of election fraud in California, including allegations he did not substantiate during the discussion.

The interview, which was broadcast nationally, initially focused on California’s vote-counting process but escalated when Welker pressed Trump to provide evidence supporting his claims of irregularities.

Trump criticised the delay in counting votes, arguing that the process indicated problems in the system.

Welker responded that California’s extended counting timeline is part of its established electoral procedure.

As the discussion intensified, Trump alleged that the election was being “rigged” and questioned the integrity of the process.

When asked repeatedly for evidence, he said he had “to look” and cited what he described as information he had heard from others.

Welker said there was no evidence of rigged elections in the United States, while Trump continued to criticise the process and California officials.

The exchange further escalated as Trump accused Welker and multiple media organisations of bias and corruption, including NBC, CNN, ABC and CBS. Welker responded that she was not corrupt.

Trump later ended the interview, saying, “Sorry, let’s end it right here,” and removed his microphone.

According to the exchange, he also criticised the production setup and said he had already given sufficient time to the media.

The confrontation follows other recent disputes between Trump and journalists, including a separate exchange with CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins in which he also criticised media coverage.