CBS News reported Tuesday that former President Trump has declined a “60 Minutes” interview scheduled for next week.
According to CBS News, the Republican presidential candidate and his political rival, Vice President Harris, have each agreed to be interviewed as part of a 60-minute campaign special scheduled to air Monday at 8 p.m. ET.
The station said the former president was scheduled to be interviewed by anchor Scott Perry, Harris was scheduled to speak with correspondent Bill Whitaker, the Trump campaign “decided not to participate,” and Perry said Monday He added that he would refer to this development.
“The election special will air the Harris interview on Monday as scheduled,” the network said in a statement Tuesday. “Our original invitation to a 60 Minutes interview with former President Donald Trump.”
A person familiar with the network's dealings with the campaign told The Hill that Trump first accepted the 60 Minutes interview request through a campaign spokesperson. The agreement was that each White House candidate would get an equal half of the airtime.
Trump's press secretary informed “60 Minutes” on Tuesday that the former president would not be available for a press conference, the person said.
The Trump campaign hit back at the network, insisting that nothing was “planned or set in stone.”
“Fake news. 60 Minutes begged Hunter Biden for an interview even after he was caught lying about his laptop in 2020,” Trump campaign communications director Stephen Chan said on Tuesday. . Post to X. “There were initial discussions, but nothing was scheduled or set in stone.”
“They also insisted on doing live fact-checking, which is unprecedented,” he added.
President Trump is at odds with news programs. In 2020, both the former president and then-candidate Joe Biden were interviewed on “60 Minutes.'' President Trump ended an interview with CBS News veteran Leslie Stahl early, with former chief of staff Mark Meadows later criticizing Stahl as an “opinion journalist.”
CBS News reported that Gov. Tim Walz, Harris' pick for vice president, is expected to participate in an interview on “60 Minutes.”
