CBS News calls out White House for breaking agreement, posting Trump’s ’60 Minutes’ interview online

CBS News on Thursday called out the White House for violating an agreement it had with the network and posting President Donald Trump’s full “60 Minutes” interview online ahead of its Sunday air date.

“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 in a statement.

Trump posted the 38-minute interview on Facebook after spending days threatening to do so and lashing out at correspondent Lesley Stahl, who conducted the interview at the White House Tuesday.

CBS News has said the White House recorded the interview alongside the network, but agreed only to use the footage for archival purposes. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the agreement.

The president claimed in his Thursday Facebook post that the full video revealed “bias, hatred and rudeness” on Stahl’s part. But the footage revealed no such thing, only showing Stahl asking firm questions about the coronavirus and other topics.

CBS News noted in its statement that “60 Minutes” is “widely respected for bringing its hallmark fairness, deep reporting and informative context to viewers each week.”

“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,” the network added.

Submit