Trump campaign denies it ever agreed to '60 Minutes' interview after CBS News claimed he backed out
The Trump campaign is disputing a statement released by CBS News claiming former President Trump backed out of a "60 Minutes" interview he initially agreed to, calling that "fake news."
The Trump campaign is denying that it had ever formally accepted the invitation for former President Trump to sit for a "60 Minutes" interview after CBS News claimed he had backed out.
"60 Minutes is scheduled to air a primetime election special on a Monday edition of the broadcast on Oct. 7 at 8 p.m… This year, both the Harris and Trump campaigns agreed to sit down with 60 Minutes," CBS News said in a statement released Tuesday. "Vice President Harris will speak with correspondent Bill Whitaker. After initially accepting 60 Minutes' request for an interview with Scott Pelley, former President Trump's campaign has decided not to participate. Pelley will address this Monday evening."
But according to Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung, that was "fake news."
"60 Minutes begged for an interview, even after they were caught lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop back in 2020," Cheung wrote on X. "There were initial discussions, but nothing was ever scheduled or locked in."
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Trump was also asked about the "60 Minutes" interview by a reporter during a campaign event in Milwaukee, Wisc.
"Last time I did an interview with them, if you remember, they challenged on the computer. They said the laptop from Hell was from Russia. And I said it wasn't from Russia, it was from Hunter. And I never got an apology. So I'm sort of waiting," Trump said. "I'd love to do ‘60 Minutes.’ I do everything. I mean, I do you right now, right? And you're tougher than ‘60 Minutes’ frankly. The laptop from Hell was from Hunter. It wasn't from me. So I haven't gotten if you remember, Lesley Stahl, we got into a little bit of an argument on the camera, talking about that and other things. And you know, they really owed me an apology."
CBS News did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Trump referred to the testy exchange he had with veteran "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl, who dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop scandal during their interview just days before the 2020 election.
At the time, Trump insisted that then-candidate Joe Biden was "in the midst of a scandal."
"He's not," Stahl gleefully replied.
"Of course he is, Lesley," Trump sternly doubled down.
"No, c'mon," Stahl continued to reject the president's claim, before lecturing him, "This is '60 Minutes' and we can't put on things that we can't verify."
CBS News eventually went on and verified the infamous laptop in 2022.
CBS News stated that its election special will air Monday as planned, featuring only the Harris interview.
"Our original invitation to former President Donald Trump to be interviewed on 60 Minutes stands," CBS News added.
Cheung also alleged that CBS News "insisted on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented."
"60 Minutes is a relic of the past, unable to keep up with the times and changing media environment, instead turning into liberal, biased propaganda," the Trump spokesman wrote on X.
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The network's announcement comes just hours before it is set to host the vice-presidential debate between Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
The "60 Minutes" special will mark Harris' third interview with a national news organization following her sit-down last week with MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle and the one she did with CNN's Dana Bash alongside Walz.
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