Donald Trump Abruptly Ends NPR Interview As He Was Queried On Election Claims

Donald Trump abruptly ended an interview with NPR’s Steve Inskeep, who pressed the former president on his unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.

The interview aired on NPR’s Morning Edition on Wednesday, but Inskeep spoke to Trump on Tuesday. He wrote on Twitter that he had been asking Trump for an interview for the past six years and “the former president came on the line today,” noting that Trum then hung up on him.

More from Deadline

• January 6th Anniversary Gets Wildly Different Treatment On Cable News Primetime: 'Trump's Failed Coup' Vs. 'Barely Rates As A Footnote'

• Olivia Nuzzi Developing Pitch-Black Satirical DC Drama At AMC

• Joe Biden Calls Out Donald Trump's "Web Of Lies" On January 6th Anniversary; Dick Cheney Chides GOP Leadership

Inskeep had asked Trump if he was “telling Republicans in 2022 that they must press your case on the past election in order to get your endorsement? Is that an absolute?”

Trump answered, “They are going to do whatever they want to do — whatever they have to do, they’re going to do. But the ones that are smart — the ones that know, you take a look at. Again, you take a look at how Kari Lake is doing, running for governor. She’s very big on this issue. She’s leading by a lot. People have no idea how big this issue is, and they don’t want it to happen again. It shouldn’t be allowed to happen, and they don’t want it to happen again.

“And the only way it’s not going to happen again is you have to solve the problem of the presidential rigged election of 2020.”

Then Trump thanked Inskeep, ended the interview and hung up.

During the interview, Inskeep challenged a number of Trump’s assertions about the 2020 election, including allegations of fraud in Arizona even though an audit set up by his president’s allies “didn’t find serious problems.”

When Trump insisted that the audit’s findings were still “devastating for Arizona” — claiming that it was about looking at ballot signatures — Inskeep then asked why Republican officials in the state accepted the results.

“Because they’re RINOs, and frankly, a lot of people are questioning that. Why would they?” Trump said. “They fought very hard, the Maricopa County people. And people don’t understand it, because all you have to do is look at the findings.”

Inskeep posted video of the exchange, and Trump’s spokesperson, Liz Harrington, retweeted it.

Best of Deadline

• Winter Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming

• Hallmark Channel 2021 Christmas, Haunukkah & Holiday Movies Schedule

• 2021 Holiday Movies, Shows On TV & Streaming For December

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.