Former President Donald Trump has declined an interview request from CBS News' "60 Minutes," citing grievances dating back to a 2020 interview he felt was conducted unfairly.
Trump's refusal comes just weeks before Election Day, after the news program reached out to both him and Vice President Kamala Harris for interviews.
The 2020 incident, which Trump referenced during a press conference in Milwaukee, involved an interview with journalist Lesley Stahl, during which Trump walked out after feeling unfairly fact-checked on a range of issues, including the controversial Hunter Biden laptop story.
At the time, Stahl pushed back against Trump's claims about Biden family dealings, insisting there was no evidence of scandal. Trump, in turn, claims CBS dismissed the "laptop from hell" story, which he and many of his allies have used to argue corruption within the Biden family.
Now, Trump says he won’t consider another interview with the show unless CBS issues an apology for what he considers a biased and inaccurate portrayal in 2020.
Despite CBS reporting that Trump had initially agreed to the recent interview, his campaign’s Communications Director, Steven Cheung, contradicted this claim, asserting that no firm plans were made and criticizing the network for insisting on "live fact-checking," something he described as "unprecedented."
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris has agreed to an interview with CBS' Bill Whitaker, which is set to air on Monday, October 7. This interview will focus on key issues like the economy, immigration, and global conflicts.
Harris was also interviewed by Whitaker in October of the previous year following the Hamas attack on Israel, where her response to Iran’s involvement in the escalating Middle East conflict was notably brief, echoing President Biden’s one-word directive: “Don’t.”
The 2020 Trump interview remains a point of contention, with the former president maintaining that the handling of the Hunter Biden story during that time was both inaccurate and politically motivated. It’s this lingering tension, compounded by what Trump views as CBS' failure to own up to its mistakes, that has led him to turn down the recent interview opportunity.
As for Harris, her conversation will likely address pressing issues, with the situation in the Middle East, particularly Iran's recent missile attacks on Israel, front and center in the global dialogue.