Trump and campaign explain why he bailed on CBS interview: "Fake news!"

Palm Beach, Florida - Donald Trump and his presidential campaign are facing criticism after he canceled a previously-agreed-to interview with the CBS news program 60 Minutes.

Donald Trump and his campaign recently turned down a scheduled interview with the CBS news show 60 minutes, arguing the program is "fake news."
Donald Trump and his campaign recently turned down a scheduled interview with the CBS news show 60 minutes, arguing the program is "fake news."  © KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP

On Tuesday – just hours before the vice presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz – the program announced on social media that Trump's campaign "decided not to participate" in an interview scheduled to premiere on October 7.

The show added that its election special, which they have done with both Republican and Democrat presidential candidates for "over half a century," will only feature their interview with Kamala Harris, but the invitation to Trump still stands.

Less than a half hour after 60 Minutes shared their post, Trump's campaign spokesperson, Steven Cheung, issued a response, calling it "fake news" and admonishing them for daring to fact-check.

Trump caught on tape joking about Butler rally shooting victim during private MAGA dinner
Donald Trump Trump caught on tape joking about Butler rally shooting victim during private MAGA dinner

"60 Minutes begged for an interview, even after they were caught lying about Hunter Biden's laptop back in 2020. There were initial discussions, but nothing was ever scheduled or locked in," Cheung wrote.

"They also insisted on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented," he added.

Donald Trump demands an apology from 60 minutes

During a rally in Wisconsin on Tuesday evening, Trump reiterated Cheung's arguments and demanded an apology from 60 Minutes for challenging him on the origins of Biden's laptop and claiming it was "from Russia."

Trump's refusal comes as the election is only a little more than a month away, and he has vehemently refused to participate in another debate with Harris, repeatedly insisting that he defeated her in their first and only debate last month.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump also accused CBS of "lying again" about the 2020 election and deemed the network and anchor Leslie Stahl "FAKE NEWS!" for disagreeing with him.

Cover photo: KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP

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