Donald Trump said he will appear on CBS’ historic ’60 Minutes’ only on the condition that the network apologize.
The former president confirmed an ongoing dispute with the show while taking questions in Milwaukee on Tuesday night, minutes before his running mate, JD Vance, faced Tim Walz in the vice presidential debate.
Trump referred to his Controversial 2020 reunion with CBS’s Leslie Stahl – where he left a White House meeting – and said the holdup was due to his demand for an apology.
“First I want you to apologize,” Trump said when asked about the rejected meeting. ‘They said the laptop from hell was from Russia. “I said it wasn’t from Russia, it was from Hunter (Biden),” Trump said.
The interview, along with one with Kamala Harris, will air on a Monday night special.
“They really owed me an apology,” Trump said.
‘They really owed me an apology’: Donald Trump said CBS should apologize for an exchange over Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop, after the network said it canceled a scheduled appearance on the show
Trump’s demands could give him some leverage in the debate itself. Trump has spent days complaining about the treatment he received during his debate with Kamala Harris on ABC News, complaining that it was “three against one.”
“After initially accepting 60 Minutes’ request for an interview with Scott Pelley, former President Trump’s campaign has decided not to participate,” the network said in a statement.
“For more than half a century, 60 Minutes has invited Democratic and Republican candidates to appear on our broadcast as Americans head to the polls,” CBS said. “This year, the Harris and Trump campaigns agreed to sit down with 60 Minutes.”
During his 2020 on-air fight on ’60 Minutes,’ Trump claimed that ‘they spied on my campaign’ in reference to the Russia investigation, while complaining about the network doing a softball interview with Joe Biden, calling it ‘a joke’ ‘.
After Stahl rebuffed him, Trump ended the interview early, chatting with his former aide Hope Hicks.
—I think we have enough interview here, Hope. Well? That’s enough. Come on. Come on.’
Former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany then brought Stahl a stack of documents and sent them to former Vice President Mike Pence.
“The president has given them a lot of time,” he said.
Stahl asked Trump if his tweets turned people off. “You discredited yourself,” Trump said in one of several jabs at her.