Fact-checking Trump’s interview with NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’ - BERITAJA

President Donald Trump sat for an question and reply pinch “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker connected Friday, discussing topics including the warfare pinch Iran, state prices and the “anti-weaponization” fund.

Throughout the interview, which aired Sunday, Trump made a bid of false, misleading aliases exaggerated comments.

Beritaja reporters dug into immoderate of the president’s remarks. Here are the facts down the claims.

Iran war

Trump defended his first-term determination to terminate the Iran atomic woody President Barack Obama had negotiated and his second-term determination to initially onslaught Iran successful June 2025.

“They were very adjacent to having a atomic weapon. I terminated the deal. Then I sent the B-2 bombers successful about nine, 10 months ago. And they obliterated, wholly obliterated, the site. And I saved it,” Trump said. “We had a choice. We could fto them person a atomic weapon, aliases we could spell on and person immoderate beautiful days. But they would have, you know, it’s a judgment. They would’ve utilized a atomic weapon.”

Later successful the interview, Trump reiterated: “If I didn’t spell successful location pinch the B-2 bombers, they would correct now person a atomic weapon, and it could beryllium that half of the world would beryllium eradicated already.”

Trump’s statements are not successful statement pinch what then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told lawmakers successful March 2025, months earlier the first U.S. strikes connected Iran. At the time, Gabbard testified that U.S. spy agencies had assessed that Iran had not decided whether to build atomic weapons, but that the state had stockpiles of enriched uranium beyond what is required for civilian purposes. Beritaja reported successful June 2025 that the U.S. appraisal of Iran’s atomic programme had not changed since March. Additionally, while Trump claimed that the U.S. “totally obliterated” an Iranian atomic tract successful the strikes, the reality is much nuanced. Beritaja reported successful July 2025 that 1 atomic enrichment tract was mostly destroyed, but 2 others were not arsenic severely damaged.

Currently, Iran apt retains about 1,000 pounds of uranium enriched to 60%, a short measurement from weapons grade, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Even if Iran had capable uranium enriched to weapons grade, it would request months aliases perchance much than a twelvemonth to build a atomic warhead that could fresh connected the extremity of a missile, according to experts and erstwhile officials.

Before Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 atomic woody successful his first term, Iran had nary stockpiles of uranium enriched beyond a debased level and was taxable to regular United Nations inspections.

Welker noted that Trump had promised he would discuss a amended deal, asking him if he wished he would person done truthful successful his first term. Trump responded that it was amended to discuss now, saying “Israel wouldn’t person been ready” during his first stint successful the Oval Office.

Trump besides said during the question and reply that awesome arms of the Iranian subject were “gone” arsenic a consequence of the existent war.

“Their navy is gone. Their aerial unit is gone. Their anti-aircraft is gone,” Trump said.

He said astatine different constituent successful the interview: “In 3 months, I’ve demolished the navy, the aerial force, anti-aircraft. They person nary radar. They person nothing.”

This is exaggerated. Beritaja has reported that half of the country’s unconventional navy remains intact aft weeks of bombing. The unconventional navy includes mini “fast boats” typically utilized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, aliases IRGC, Tehran’s hard-line subject force. Those forces are cardinal to Iran’s expertise to power world shipping done the Strait of Hormuz, and because of the quality of that navy, it has been harder for the U.S. to place and target those forces.

The Pentagon has said the U.S. subject has destroyed about 90% of Iran’s accepted navy and much than 95% of Iran’s naval mines, though. Defense officials person besides said much than 80% of Iran’s “missile facilities” are gone, suggesting locations wherever Iran constructs missiles and different weaponry could beryllium targeted should operations resume.

Trump was besides pressed by Welker connected his run promise not to commencement immoderate caller wars.

“I didn’t guarantee nary war. Why would I person built the strongest subject successful the world?” Trump said. “I built our military.”

But Trump many times promised arsenic a campaigner that he would not commencement caller wars if elected.

Trump said while campaigning successful Pennsylvania successful 2024: “I will not nonstop you to conflict and dice successful stupid overseas wars that ne'er end. I will not nonstop our sons and daughters to spell conflict for a warfare successful a state that you’ve ne'er heard of. We’re not going to do it. We’re going to bring our troops home, and we’re going to attraction connected America First.”

And successful his November 2024 triumph speech, Trump said: “I’m not going to commencement a war. I’m going to extremity wars.”

Gas prices

Asked about rising state prices that person resulted from the war, Trump said they would spell down erstwhile a woody is reached.

“If we motion an agreement, it’ll spell down now. Otherwise, they’ll spell down aft we’re finished,” Trump said.

But lipid executives person said it will return clip to reconstruct lipid accumulation successful the Middle East and bring down state prices, moreover if the Strait of Hormuz is reopened immediately.

Exxon Senior Vice President Neil Chapman said astatine a Bernstein Research conference precocious past period that it is “going to return clip to rebalance the world markets” erstwhile the strait reopens owed to dwindling inventories.

“You could estimate 4 to six weeks earlier we get into a normal proviso chain,” he said. “And it each depends connected whether the strait opens — astatine what clip it opens. And past the mobility for the world and each state and each commercialized statement is really quickly do you rebuild those inventories?”

Meanwhile, Sultan Al Jaber, main executive of the United Arab Emirates authorities lipid group ADNOC, recently said: “Even if this conflict ends tomorrow, it will return astatine slightest 4 months to get backmost to 80% of pre-conflict flows and afloat flows will not return earlier the first aliases moreover 2nd 4th of 2027.”

Jan. 6 riot

Trump defended the Justice Department’s projected $1.8 cardinal “anti-weaponization” fund, saying that friends who “have been wounded truthful severely by extremist near lunatics” merit payment. While the Justice Department told a tribunal that the money is “not going forward,” there’s thing to extremity the Trump management from giving payouts to Trump friends successful the future, moreover without the fund.

Asked by Welker whether anyone who attacked constabulary officers connected Jan 6. should person funds, Trump said he “wouldn’t beryllium inclined to opportunity so, but I person to spot it.”

When Welker again brought up the about 170 Jan. 6 rioters who pleaded blameworthy to assaulting constabulary officers, Trump said: “They pled blameworthy because they were frightened. They went down. They were ushered into a building. Many of them were arrested without moreover going into the building.”

This needs context, arsenic immoderate of the about convulsive rioters from that time ne'er entered the building. The Biden Justice Department’s sprawling Jan. 6 probe mostly focused connected individuals who either entered the Capitol itself aliases engaged successful immoderate benignant of aggravating behaviour extracurricular the Capitol, specified arsenic assaulting constabulary officers.

For example, one of the longest sentences went to David Dempsey, who was ordered to service 20 years successful prison. Prosecutors said he swung makeshift weapons and hurled objects astatine officers, sprayed them pinch chemicals, and stomped 5 times connected an officer’s caput — acts committed extracurricular the Capitol building itself.

Trump besides claimed the FBI brought group into the Capitol connected Jan. 6.

“They had FBI agents ushering them into the building,” Trump said.

As Welker noted during the interview, there’s nary grounds that immoderate FBI typical agents ushered anyone into the building, and nary on-duty FBI typical agents were connected the grounds until aft the riot collapsed retired and immoderate responded to assistance pinch crowd control.

There were 4 FBI confidential quality sources, aliases informants, who entered the Capitol building, but they weren’t directed to do truthful by the bureau, according to a report from the Justice Department’s inspector general. The study besides recovered that the FBI tasked 3 informants to study connected home coercion suspects who were perchance attending events successful Washington, D.C., connected Jan. 6. The FBI did not supply tasks for the different 23 informants successful Washington that day.

California elections

Trump, who has for years made mendacious claims of elector fraud, said the caller superior elections successful California were “rigged.”

“The predetermination was rigged. It was a soiled election. And it’s happening again correct now successful California,” Trump said. He added: “It’s 4 days and they aren’t moreover adjacent to coming up pinch the — do you cognize why they’re doing that? Because they’re cheating connected the election.”

Pressed for evidence, Trump said, “All I person to do is look. And I listen. I perceive to people.”

There is nary grounds of predetermination fraud successful California aliases problems pinch the state’s ballot counting.

Trump is pointing to the agelong ballot count successful California, which is the consequence of the state’s predetermination rules and reliance connected mail-in voting, agelong a target of ridicule for the president.More than 80% of California’s voters formed a ballot by message in caller elections. Ballots that are postmarked by predetermination time could beryllium accepted up to a week afterward, erstwhile they must beryllium validated, processed and tallied. States that ballot mostly in-person often study results much quickly because that process could hap astatine the polls pinch the elector present.

Trump noted that Republicans’ margins successful immoderate races are “dropping fast” arsenic the ballot is counted. But that is not owed to fraud arsenic he claimed. Democratic voters person been much apt to clasp mail-in voting, peculiarly successful the post-Covid era, truthful arsenic those ballots are counted, Democratic candidates’ numbers thin to improve.