President Donald Trump made some playful remarks about CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil during a recent interview, suggesting that Dokoupil wouldn’t be in his current position without Trump’s influence. Dokoupil mentioned in the Tuesday segment of “CBS Evening News” that many “ordinary Americans” haven’t experienced economic improvements since Trump took office.
In response, Trump pointed out that he’s only been president for about 11 months and described the situation he inherited as a “mess.” He stated, “Tony, we have the hottest country in the world right now. Just a year and a half ago, it was like our country was dead.” He went on to quip, “You probably don’t have a job right now. If you do, you probably won’t have it for long.”
Later, he joked about Dokoupil’s job security, saying, “Your boss is great, but he might go bankrupt, okay? You won’t have this job no matter what they pay you.” He emphasized that the U.S. economy is booming, stating, “If they intervene, we’ll be Venezuela on steroids.”
Trump’s comments were not just about the economy; he was also a central figure in CBS News’ restructuring. His previous lawsuit against the network concerning a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris stemmed from Paramount’s efforts to merge with another company. The FCC approved this merger after the lawsuit was settled.
After David Ellison took over as Paramount’s new owner, he appointed Bari Weiss as CBS News’ editor-in-chief. Weiss then selected Dokoupil to be the face of “CBS Evening News,” aiming to revitalize the struggling program.
As the interview wrapped up, Dokoupil lightly challenged Trump’s earlier comments, asserting that he would accept the job even if a different political party took over. Trump jokingly remarked, “Yeah, but you get paid less,” before they shook hands.
