Trump walks out of ’60 Minutes’ interview, does not film with Pence

Word is Trump grew impatient with Lesley Stahl's questioning about the pandemic.

Oct 21, 2020

As the 2020 presidential election gets closer and closer, President Donald Trump is growing increasingly impatient with media personalities outside of his Fox News bubble.

On Tuesday, Trump ended an interview with CBS News’ venerated 60 Minutes co-anchor Lesley Stahl. He also did not return for a segment he was supposed to tape with Vice President Mike Pence.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump ended an interview with “60 Minutes” co-anchor Lesley Stahl (right) and did not return for a segment he was supposed to tape with Vice President Mike Pence. (Photos by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images and Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Student Leadership Network)

Trump reportedly walked out of the interview after 45 minutes because he was frustrated with the veteran journalist’s repeated questions about his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hours later, Trump tweeted a brief video clip of Stahl not wearing a mask, with the caption, that read “Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes not wearing a mask in the White House after her interview with me. Much more to come.”

CNN is reporting that a source who was present said that the image is from immediately after the president abruptly ended their conversation. The source said Stahl was conferring with her producers to discuss the next steps and had not yet gathered her personal items, including her mask.

The report says that Stahl was wearing a mask upon entering the White House until immediately before the start of her Trump interview.

Read More: Elections, are we there yet?

As has been a tradition with the long-standing news program, both candidates and their vice-presidential candidates were scheduled to be interviewed for 60 Minutes.

In keeping with coronavirus concerns, former Vice President Joe Biden and his pick as vice president, Sen. Kamala Harris, chose to complete their interviews separately.

The current president and vice president were scheduled to appear in a “walk and talk” session together, the way they did prior to the 2016 election. But that filming did not take place.

Stahl’s in-depth talks with the candidates are scheduled to air on CBS this Sunday, however, Trump has threatened to release his own footage of the interview.

He tweeted: “I am pleased to inform you that, for the sake of accuracy in reporting, I am considering posting my interview with Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes, PRIOR TO AIRTIME! This will be done so that everybody can get a glimpse of what a FAKE and BIASED interview is all about…Everyone should compare this terrible Electoral Intrusion with the recent interviews of Sleepy Joe Biden!”

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