Months after parent company Paramount paid $16 million to settle a lawsuit President Donald Trump had filed against CBS, the White House issued another legal threat against the network, this time over Trump’s interview on CBS Evening News.
The New York Times obtained audio from the moments after Trump’s interview with new CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil on Tuesday, and the newspaper reports that Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, approached Dokoupil and other CBS staffers to relay a message from Trump.
“He said, ‘Make sure you guys don’t cut the tape, make sure the interview is out in full,’” Leavitt said.
“Yeah, we’re doing it, yeah,” Dokoupil replied
Leavitt continued, “He said, ‘If it’s not out in full, we’ll sue your ass off.’”
To that, CBS Evening News executive producer Kim Harvey said, “Oh, great, OK!”
And Dokoupil said, “He always says that!” in a turn to humor, The New York Times reported, but the newspaper added that Leavitt did not laugh.
Even so, a source told the Times some CBS staffers thought Leavitt was speaking in jest.
CBS News did indeed air the full interview on Tuesday night. As Trump and Dokoupil talked at a Ford assembly line in Dearborn, Michigan, the president discussed Iran, immigration, the killing of Renee Good, and other current affairs. He also told Dokoupil — four times — that Dokoupil wouldn’t have a job had Kamala Harris won the 2024 presidential election.
At the end of the interview, Dokoupil returned to that point. “For the record, I do think I’d have this job even if the other guys won,” he contended.
“Yeah, but at a lesser salary,” Trump responded.
In a statement on Saturday, CBS News maintained it always planned to air the full conversation. “The moment we booked this interview, we made the independent decision to air it unedited and in its entirety,” the network said, per the Times.
Leavitt, meanwhile, told the Times, “The American people deserve to watch President Trump’s full interviews, unedited, no cuts. And guess what? The interview ran in full.”
CBS Evening News With Tony Dokoupil, Weeknights, 6:30/5:30c, CBS
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