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Donald Trump leaked his own short-tempered, raw TV interview Thursday with CBS’s 60 Minutes on Facebook before the show’s air date Sunday and just hours before the final presidential debate with Joe Biden in Nashville.
The president tweeted “Look at the prejudice, hatred and rudeness” about his CBS interviewer, Lesley Stahl.
He then repeated the cautionary criticism of the moderator of Thursday’s final presidential debate, NBC’s Kristen Welker.
“Watch [Stahl’s] constant interruptions [and] go to. Compare my complete, flowing and ‘superbly brilliant’ responses, ”Trump tweeted along with the link to the interview.
The footage shows the president growing frustrated as presenter Lesley Stahl presses him on the coronavirus pandemic, his slippery support with suburban women and the economy.
“Are you ready for some tough questions?” Stahl asked the Republican president as the 60 Minutes interview began. He only got more irritable from there.
At the end of the nearly 40-minute footage, Trump repeats Stahl’s comment, noting that “that’s no way to talk” and then complaining, “You’re so negative.”
After Tuesday’s interview, reports emerged that Trump had cut him off abruptly after just 45 minutes, rather than the scheduled time. The full interview turned out to be shorter as the president allegedly refused to re-record a scheduled second part with the vice president, Mike Pence.
That day, he shared a clip on Twitter “for the sake of reporting accuracy,” complaining that Stahl was not wearing a mask. Producers contend that Stahl wore a mask when he entered the White House. The selective clip was from their discussion immediately after the interview.
The news outlet continued to criticize the president’s decision to leak the entire video.
“The unprecedented decision of the White House to ignore its agreement with CBS News and publish its images will not deter 60 Minutes from providing its full, fair and contextual report, in which presidents have participated for decades,” the network said in a statement.
Trump’s untimely end of the interview was not the kind of assault or microphone ripping that people might have imagined was coming, after much feverish gossip in the media earlier in the week.
Someone off-camera pointed out that it was almost time to switch to filming Pence.
“Hey, we have the veep in five minutes,” the person said. And then Trump said, “I think we have enough now, come on.”
Before leaving, the president lamented that Stahl’s colleagues at 60 Minutes and in other media outlets are more sensitive to Democratic rival Joe Biden.
“You don’t ask Joe Biden. I see Joe Biden getting softball after softball, ”Trump said, questioning the vice president’s treatment, before returning to the attacks on Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. The attacks were again based on an unconfirmed New York Post report alleging corruption in Joe Biden’s dealings with Ukraine, where Hunter Biden held a position on the board of a gas company.
After Stahl joked that he is asking questions Americans want to know, Trump declared, “I think we have enough interview” before turning to staff and saying, “Enough is enough, let’s go.”
Administration officials confirmed to 60 Minutes that they made their own recording of interviews for White House archival purposes.
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