On Deadline: White House, Angelo Carusone discusses the California election conspiracy theories and how they're “keeping the machinery of misinformation warm”
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From the June 9, 2026, edition of MS NOW's Deadline: White House
NICOLLE WALLACE (HOST): I feel like there's been so much attention around his tantrum with my former colleague, Kristen Welker, that the things he blurts out seem to reveal that he knows there's no evidence. It's just in his gut. Angelo, let me play that for you again. This is Donald Trump storming off the set of a Meet the Press interview.
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Two things. Who's the "you" in "your elections are crooked and you're crooked?" But the second -- so he's had nine years, or feels like nine, it's actually only six, right? He's had six years. He's had Tulsi Gabbard and now the Fannie Freddie guy about to take over. He's got Todd Blanche at DOJ. He's indicted Comey for seashells, and he still cannot present a thimbleful of evidence that there was any fraud in the 2020 election, Angelo.
ANGELO CARUSONE (MEDIA MATTERS PRESIDENT): No. He can't. And I think the way that he reacted when he was pressed for evidence, so ending the interview in the way that he did, you know, there's a lot to be said about his emotions and getting frustrated and not being able to handle it. That's a whole story unto itself. But I think one of the key parts is that there's a decision that he made at that moment, which is that it was better to hit the eject button than to sit there and have to confront that particular type of pressing because this isn't about Spencer Pratt or trying to help Spencer Pratt.
It's about keeping the machinery of misinformation warm, keeping the engine running. And that's the part -- you know, I look at the trend line here and that's what alarms me. Because one, he's keeping it running. He's keeping the audience prime. And to your point, even though they haven't really produced anything credible or tangible -- in fact, some of the most concrete stuff was that Fox News knew they were lying when they were carrying water for Donald Trump, and yet somehow that has all been memory holed. But he's keeping the audience sort of primed.
And more importantly, he's been moving the ball forward. So I'm so glad Jacob mentioned that point about the U.S. attorney there, because he's gotten worse in the last couple of days. As Trump continues to hammer away at this, he's getting more extreme. So he was just on Glenn Beck's show yesterday promising charges, saying there will be charges brought. Promising it. Talking about the timeline for that being the certification. And, you know, as Jacob notes, you know, they're not really doing an investigation ostensibly right now, but it doesn't matter because they are going to use the machinery of government, the power that they have, coupled with their misinformation engine to create, at best, massive disruptions and doubt. And that at worst, something a lot more destructive than that to our democracy. And that's really the so what of all this from my perspective.