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

Iran warFact-checking Trump’s interview with NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’Digging into some of the president’s claims on the Iran war, the Jan. 6 riots, California’s primary elections and more.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00"Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker interviews President Donald Trump on June 5, 2026, at Custer Farms in Chippewa Falls, Wis.Meet The PressShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 7, 2026, 9:00 AM EDTBy Jane C. TimmPresident Donald Trump sat for an interview with “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker on Friday, discussing topics including the war with Iran, gas prices and the “anti-weaponization” fund.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Throughout the interview, which aired Sunday, Trump made a series of false, misleading or exaggerated comments.NBC News reporters dug into some of the president’s remarks. Here are the facts behind the claims.Iran warTrump defended his first-term decision to terminate the Iran nuclear deal President Barack Obama had negotiated and his second-term decision to initially strike Iran in June 2025.“They were very close to having a nuclear weapon. I terminated the deal. Then I sent the B-2 bombers in about nine, 10 months ago. And they obliterated, totally obliterated, the site. And I saved it,” Trump said. “We had a choice. We could let them have a nuclear weapon, or we could go along and have some beautiful days. But they would have, you know, it’s a judgment. They would’ve used a nuclear weapon.”Later in the interview, Trump reiterated: “If I didn’t go in there with the B-2 bombers, they would right now have a nuclear weapon, and it could be that half of the world would be eradicated already.”Trump’s statements are not in line with what then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told lawmakers in March 2025, months before the initial U.S. strikes on Iran. At the time, Gabbard testified that U.S. spy agencies had as...