Former President Donald Trump has withdrawn from an interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes” after initially agreeing to it, the program said in a statement Tuesday.
“For more than half a century, 60 Minutes has invited Democratic and Republican ticket holders to appear on our broadcast as Americans head to the polls,” the statement read, saying that both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris had accepted the invitation.
Harris has not withdrawn, but Trump has, the statement said.
“After initially accepting 60 Minutes’ request for an interview with Scott Pelley, former President Trump’s campaign has decided not to participate,” the statement said. “Pelley will address this Monday evening.”
David Plouffe, a senior adviser to the Harris campaign, called Trump “scared” on X, formerly Twitter.
“Afraid of the debate phase,” Plouffe wrote, referring to Trump’s reluctance to debate Harris for a second time. “Afraid for 60 minutes. And his campaign team – after the last three days of increasingly unhinged and volatile tirades at his rallies – is clearly afraid of pushing him beyond comfortable limits.”
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, disputed that Trump ever agreed to the interview.
“Fake News,” Cheung posted to X on Tuesday in response to the “60 Minutes” statement. “60 Minutes begged for an interview even after they were caught lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop in 2020. There were initial discussions, but nothing was ever planned or committed.”
Cheung particularly took issue with the program’s emphasis on fact-checking the former president.
“They also insisted on live fact checking, which is unprecedented,” he said.
Harris will speak with correspondent Bill Whitaker during the special, which airs Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern.
