CBS News quickly fired back at President Trump on Thursday, shortly after he posted what he claimed was his full interview on “60 Minutes” on his Facebook page, days before its scheduled airtime on Sunday.
On Thursday morning, CBS “This Morning” aired a short preview of Trump’s “60 Minutes” interview that he reportedly walked out on because he was unhappy with “60 Minutes” anchor Lesley Stahl’s tough questioning.
The short clip aired by CBS “This Morning” shows Stahl asking Trump what his “biggest domestic priority” is, but the President proceeded to boast about his supposed economic achievements while dodging the question. Stahl pushed back on Trump’s assertion that his administration “created the greatest economy in the history of our country” by telling him “you know that’s not true.”
Several hours after CBS released the “60 Minutes” clip, Trump posted what he claimed was the full interview on his Facebook page. In the video caption, the President griped that “60 Minutes” and CBS demonstrated “bias, hatred and rudeness” while also throwing NBC News’ Kristen Welker, who is set to moderate the final presidential debate later Thursday, under the bus by characterizing her as “far worse.”
CBS News quickly rebuked Trump’s move in a statement shared with TPM on Thursday. The network said that it is committed to releasing “its full, fair and contextual reporting.”
“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,” CBS News said. “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.”
CBS News also praised Stahl, who Trump has been on a rampage against by vowing to release footage of his “60 Minutes” interview prior to its scheduled airtime on Sunday. Over the course of the week, Trump posted a short video clip and photos of Stahl not wearing a mask at the White House to his Twitter.
“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,” CBS News added in its statement.
Trump’s early release of footage from his “60 Minutes” interview comes a day after White House chief of staff Mark Meadows appeared to hype the ominous hit job against Stahl that the President teased shortly after ditching the interview early.
During an interview on Fox Business Network on Wednesday morning, Meadows said that “there’s a high probability, but more to come.”
