Donald Trump's 'Meet the Press' interview was a media failure to defend truth | Opinion

President-elect Donald Trump returned to NBC's "Meet the Press" in an interview that aired Sunday morning, his first major interview with a broadcast network since he won the election. You may recall that he also appeared on the show in September of 2023, in Kristen Welker's first week as moderator replacing Chuck Todd. In that interview, he lied, he dodged and when she tried to push back here and there he either ignored her or just said he disagreed.

He did the same thing on Dec. 8. His relationship to the truth remains unchanged: strained at best. But unlike the 2023 interview, the topics Welker brought up and Trump's response to them are no longer theoretical campaign promises. So when he says he thought members of the Jan. 6 committee belong in prison, for instance, there's no reason not to believe him.

Will Trump direct Kash Patel to go after enemies?

About that. Trump said, "Retribution will be through success." But he made it clear he would be happy with the old-fashioned punitive type, as well.

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Welker asked Trump several times about his intentions to go after his perceived political enemies, about whether he would ask Kash Patel, his controversial pick for FBI director, to do the dirty work for him (Welker was more diplomatic in her phrasing, though maybe she would have had more luck if she hadn't been). Trump repeatedly said no, he would let Patel and Pam Bondi, his choice for U.S. Attorney General, make the decisions, that he wouldn't direct them to act — and then said things like, "If they were crooked, if they did something wrong, if they have broken the law, probably. They went after me. You know, they went after me and I did nothing wrong."

In other words, Trump gave really strong "Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest" vibes throughout the interview.

"What I heard was him trying to give some space for himself for plausible deniability," Jen Psaki, former White House press secretary for Joe Biden and now an MSNBC host, said. "Because he picked these people. He does not need to direct them. This is why he picked them. They have passed the loyalty test."

The biggest news was probably that Trump said he would work with Democrats to help "Dreamers" (those brought to the U.S. illegally when they were children) stay in the country. He also said he didn't think he would fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, and that he didn't plan to restrict access to abortion pills. When Welker asked if he could commit to the latter, Trump declined. He repeated said things like, "I don't like putting myself in a position like that" and, "Things change."

How about health care? Trump called Obamacare "lousy." Welker asked if Trump had a plan to replace it, or if it was still only the infamous "concept of a plan" he has spoken about.

"We have concepts of a plan that would be better," Trump said.

"Let me explain," Trump said, and made it pretty clear it's still concepts of a plan.

Kristen Welker tried to push back occasionally, to little avail

Throughout the interview, Welker, as she did the last time she interviewed him, occasionally tried to challenge Trump, to no avail. In an aside to another question Trump brought up the 2020 election, which he lost to Biden, saying, "You know how I feel about that" and bizarrely said that winning the 2024 election proved it. Welker pointed out that Trump did indeed lose the 2020 election, that this is proven fact.

"That's your opinion," Trump said, "but I disagree with it."

Winning an election doesn't rewrite history

Uh, no. It's not her opinion. It's a fact. Winning an election does not give anyone domain over the truth. Facts are facts and are thus not subject to opinion. That's why they are, you know, facts. In a rambling sort of closing statement, Trump said he wants to bring "civilization" back to the U.S., which he said has become a "crime pod." People have to be able to walk across the street without getting shot.

This would have been an excellent time for Welker to point out that violent crime rates are down.

Of course, the interview brings back the challenge in interviewing Trump and his loyalists. Do you spend the entirety of your time fact-checking him on crime rates and immigration numbers? Or do you just let him talk, get him on the record and leave it at that?

The leaving-it-at-that approach no longer works, not in a divided country in which facts have lost all meaning to a growing number of people. Cumbersome though it may be, when Trump and members of his administration lie or misstate facts in interviews, they need to be called on it. It's a reporter's job.

No more Trump on TV?:Kristen Welker's interview made it clear

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly WatchList newsletter.