CBS News announced that Donald Trump has declined to participate in an interview with “60 Minutes” as part of its election special, which will feature Democratic opponent Kamala Harris alone. The top-rated news program typically invites both presidential contenders for separate interviews that air back-to-back, but Trump’s campaign initially agreed to an interview before informing CBS that he would not appear.
The decision by the former president to decline the interview has left Vice President Harris as the only participant in the upcoming special. There are currently no other opportunities scheduled for voters to compare the two candidates in a joint setting. While Harris has accepted an invitation for a second debate with CNN later in the month, Trump has not made a decision on participating.
The interview special is set to air on Monday instead of the usual Sunday time slot, due to the American Music Awards airing on CBS on Sunday. Trump’s campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, claimed that “60 Minutes” had insisted on live fact-checking during the interview, which he called unprecedented. CBS did not immediately respond to Cheung’s claim.
This is not the first time Trump has had a contentious interview with “60 Minutes.” Prior to the 2020 election, his interview with correspondent Lesley Stahl ended early, and his campaign posted an unedited transcript of the session online. Despite the lack of cooperation from the former president, CBS News is moving forward with the election special, with Vice President Harris participating in a pretaped interview with correspondent Bill Whitaker.
In addition to the election special, CBS News was hosting a vice presidential debate on Tuesday between Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Tim Walz, Minnesota’s Democratic governor. The decision by Trump to decline the “60 Minutes” interview comes at a crucial time in the election cycle, as voters are eager to hear from the two candidates and compare their stances on key issues facing the country.
