CBS News Releases Statement Critizing the Release of Trump’s ’60 Minutes’ Interview

This morning, CBS News’ “60 Minutes” released a clip of a recent interview that correspondent Lesley Stahl did with President Trump at the White House as the president threatened to release the entire video following reports that he walked out.

In the clip, they go back and forth over the president’s claims that the U.S. economy was “the greatest economy in the history of our country” before the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Watch more of Lesley Stahl’s interview with President Trump, Sunday. pic.twitter.com/zA5q4pFxeI

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 22, 2020

Ultimately, the president and the White House decided to release the full interview on Facebook. Trump said about the interview, “Look at the bias, hatred and rudeness on behalf of 60 Minutes and CBS. Tonight’s anchor, Kristen Welker, is far worse! #MAGA“

https://www.facebook.com/DonaldTrump/posts/10165668067695725

CBS News has released a statement on the decision, which they are critical of as it blows their exclusive. The statement begins by insisting that “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 decades.”

The statement then claims that “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 concludes, “Few journalists have the presidential interview experience Lesley Stahl has delivered over her decades as one of the premier correspondents in America and we look forward to audiences seeing her third interview with President Trump and subsequent interview with Vice President Pence this weekend.”

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. (2/4)

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 22, 2020

and we look forward to audiences seeing her third interview with President Trump and subsequent interview with Vice President Pence this weekend. (4/4)

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 22, 2020

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has been critical of Stahl, saying the longtime journalist “came across more like an opinion journalist than a real reporter.”