Former President Donald Trump has declined to participate in an upcoming 60 Minutes interview, demanding an apology from the show for dismissing The New York Post’s 2020 story on Hunter Biden’s laptop. Speaking to reporters in Milwaukee on Tuesday, Trump, 78, made it clear that he would not sit down for the interview unless 60 Minutes acknowledges its previous stance.
“They came to me and would like me to do an interview, but first, I want to get an apology,” Trump stated. He referenced a 2020 interview with 60 Minutes reporter Lesley Stahl, where she questioned the validity of the Hunter Biden laptop story. “They said the laptop from hell was from Russia, and I said, ‘It wasn’t from Russia. It was from Hunter,’” Trump continued. “And I never got an apology.”
Trump’s frustration stems from 60 Minutes dismissing the laptop story at the time, with Stahl refusing to cover it, stating it “can’t be verified.” However, 769 days after The Post broke the story, CBS News finally confirmed the laptop’s authenticity, which implicated President Biden in his son Hunter and brother Jim Biden’s foreign dealings.
The situation has led to conflicting accounts between the Trump campaign and CBS. The network claims Trump’s team had agreed to a sit-down interview, scheduled to air on October 7, but backed out after initially accepting the invitation. The interview would have featured Trump with correspondent Scott Pelley, while Vice President Kamala Harris is set to appear in the same segment, interviewed by Bill Whitaker.
The Trump campaign, however, disputes CBS’s narrative. Campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung dismissed the network’s claim as “Fake News,” asserting, “60 Minutes begged for an interview, even after they were caught lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop back in 2020.” Cheung further explained that while there were initial talks, nothing was ever finalized or scheduled. told by Ground News.
Despite the current stalemate, Trump hinted that he is still open to the possibility of participating. “I’d love to do 60 Minutes,” he said. “I do everything. I’ve asked them for an apology. Let’s see if they do it.”
The 60 Minutes election special will proceed as planned without Trump, featuring interviews with Vice President Harris and other political figures. Whether or not the former president will rejoin the program remains to be seen, hinging on his request for an apology.
