President Trump has somehow managed to wage even more attacks against members of the press ahead of his final presidential debate this week. The President reportedly abruptly walked out on a solo interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes” on Tuesday, according to CNN.
Multiple sources familiar with the situation told CNN that the President refused to return for a taped walk and talk session with Vice President Mike Pence, like they did four years ago, during another “60 Minutes” interview.
According to CNN, citing two sources, Trump sat down with “60 Minutes” host Lesley Stahl for about 45 minutes before abruptly cutting off the interview. The President reportedly told CBS that he believed they had enough material to use.
CNN noted that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his VP pick Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) were also interviewed by “60 Minutes” and taped their interviews separately. All four candidates on the presidential ticket are scheduled to appear in the same program scheduled for Sunday.
The New York Times reported separately that Trump stormed out of the interview because he was unhappy with Stahl’s questioning, according to two sources.
Minutes before CNN published its report on Tuesday afternoon, Trump posted an ominous tweet featuring a short video clip of Stahl not wearing a mask while visiting the White House.
Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes not wearing a mask in the White House after her interview with me. Much more to come. pic.twitter.com/0plZG6a4fH
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 20, 2020
Later Tuesday, Trump tweeted that he is weighing posting his “60 Minutes” interview ahead of its scheduled airtime on Sunday.
…Everyone should compare this terrible Electoral Intrusion with the recent interviews of Sleepy Joe Biden!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 20, 2020
Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller also denied CNN’s report on the President’s walk-out and slammed Stahl in a tweet.
Very fake news!
No drama, interview was not ended abruptly and we have the receipts from the interview – all of them!
Maybe we need to put the whole thing out so people can see for themselves?
Lesley’s a bad example for mask wearing, Kaitlan – don’t follow her lead!!! https://t.co/tfNn59ljHC
— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) October 20, 2020
Trump’s reported walk-out during his interview on “60 Minutes” comes amid a week of bashing moderators ahead of his final presidential debate against Biden on Thursday. It’s a familiar line of attack with this administration.
On Tuesday morning, the President told “Fox and Friends” that NBC News White House Kristen Welker — who is set to moderate the final presidential debate — “cannot be neutral at all.” Trump told supporters in Prescott, Arizona the day before that Welker is a “radical Democrat” — echoing his attacks against Welker on Saturday when he quote-tweeted his son, Donald Trump Jr., who linked to a New York Post article claiming that the White House correspondent has “deep Democratic ties.”
Trump also ripped Fox News’ Chris Wallace, who moderated the disastrous first presidential debate that the President hijacked, on Tuesday by calling him “terrible” and suggesting he had only been neutral “to himself.”
A day after NBC “Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie grilled Trump during an NBC News town hall on Thursday, the President took a swipe at her during an event in Fort Myers, Florida by telling attendees that he “had someone going totally crazy last night.”
Additionally, Trump has recently complained about “60 Minutes” giving air time to Dr. Anthony Fauci — who has raised alarms regarding large gatherings amid COVID-19 such as the President’s enormous and largely mask-free campaign rallies — by tweeting that Fauci “seems to get more airtime than anybody since the late, great, Bob Hope.”
