60 Minutes, as it has done in every election since the 1960s, offered to interview both parties’ presidential nominees. This time, Kamala Harris said yes, while Donald Trump backed out.
According to CBS News, Trump’s team initially agreed to the interview before backing out, reportedly because of disagreements over fact-checking and a demand by Trump’s side that anchor Lesley Stahl apologize for alleged statements in 2020 about Hunter Biden’s laptop. Per CBS, Stahl had never made such claims.
Holy sh*t. Never seen an opening to a 60 Minutes as brutal as this one. They start by exposing all the “shifting explanations” from the Trump campaign, including not wanting 60 Minutes to “fact-check” and demanding an “apology” for Trump’s 2020 interview. Watch for yourself. pic.twitter.com/z25zNE2htY
— Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) October 8, 2024
Harris’ 60 Minutes interview aired as scheduled as part of a primetime special on Monday, and it appears that Trump watched it. He shared his review of the interview on Truth Social.
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Trump continued his campaign-long strategy of calling Harris dumb while also appearing to land on “Comrade Kamala” as his preferred nickname for his opponent. He also bashed Harris’ “Incompetence” in handling the Hurricane Helene response last week, predicting that “I can’t imagine anybody living in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, or Tennessee voting for her.”
In the actual interview, Harris sat down with CBS News’ Bill Whitaker, and discussed the border, the economy, the Middle East and other topics.
“We now have historic low unemployment in America among all groups of people. We now have an economy that is thriving by all macroeconomic measures,” the vice president said in response to one of the economics questions. “And, to your point, prices are still too high. And I know that, and we need to deal with it, which is why part of my plan—you mentioned groceries. Part of my plan is what we must do to bring down the price of groceries.”
CNN’s Brian Stelter noted that Trump has gotten a “pass” for his avoidance of the interview, and that Harris would likely not have gotten the same grace had the roles been reversed.
Imagine if Kamala Harris had committed to a “60 Minutes” interview and then backed out, leaving CBS in the lurch. Because that’s what Trump did – with few followup stories or think pieces claiming he’s afraid of tough questions. pic.twitter.com/L0dxL9wzhk
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 7, 2024
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune photo library.
