President Donald Trump is releasing footage of an interview he did with CBS News’ “60 Minutes” before its air date to expose “what a fake and biased interview is all about.”
On Thursday morning, Trump shared footage of the interview on his Facebook page and said, “Look at the bias, hatred and rudeness on behalf of 60 Minutes and CBS. Tonight’s anchor, Kristen Welker, is far worse!”
In a statement on Thursday, the network said, “The White House’s unprecedented decision to disregard their agreement with CBS News and release their footage will not deter 60 MINUTES from providing its full, fair, and contextual reporting which presidents have participated in for debates.”
“60 MINUTES, the most-watched news program on television, is widely respected for bringing its hallmark fairness, deep reporting and informative context to viewers each week,” the statement added.
The network touted Lesley Stahl’s “presidential interview experience” from her “decades as one of the premiere correspondents in America.”
Finally, the statement said, “We look forward to audiences seeing her third interview with President Trump and subsequent interview with Vice President Pence this weekend.”
Read the statement below:
Statement from @CBSNews on Trump releasing raw footage from his 60 Minutes interview with Lesley Stahl pic.twitter.com/ob0hBL7jC1
— Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) October 22, 2020
In the footage Trump shared, Stahl is heard asking the president before the interview begins if he was “ready for some tough questions.”
He responded, “Just be fair.”
Roughly 37 minutes into the interview, the president abruptly decided to cut it short after an aide noted they had roughly five minutes till they were scheduled to film a walk-and-talk with Vice President Mike Pence.
Instead, Trump signaled he was done with the interview, “I think we have enough. We have enough.”
“OK, that’s enough. Let’s go,” he added.
On Tuesday, Trump teased that he might release footage of the interview in a tweet, “I am pleased to inform you that, for the sake of accuracy in reporting, I am considering posting my interview with Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes, PRIOR TO AIRTIME!”
“This will be done so that everybody can get a glimpse of what a FAKE and BIASED interview is all about,” he added.
I am pleased to inform you that, for the sake of accuracy in reporting, I am considering posting my interview with Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes, PRIOR TO AIRTIME! This will be done so that everybody can get a glimpse of what a FAKE and BIASED interview is all about…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 20, 2020
And at a rally in Pennsylvania, he said, “You have to watch what we do to ’60 Minutes.’ You’ll get such a kick of it. You’re gonna get a kick out of it. Lesley Stahl is not gonna be happy.”