The upcoming “60 Minutes” candidate hour will feature only Vice President Kamala Harris after former President Donald Trump, who had initially agreed to appear, pulled out of the Monday, Oct. 7 special.
“For over half a century, ’60 Minutes’ has invited both Democratic and Republican candidates to speak as Americans prepare to vote,” the show stated. “This year, both Harris and Trump agreed to participate. Vice President Harris will sit down with correspondent Bill Whitaker, while former President Trump’s campaign, after initially agreeing, has now declined an interview with Scott Pelley.” Pelley will address Trump’s absence on Monday evening, with the Harris interview proceeding as planned. The invitation for Trump to participate remains open.
This would have been one of the few direct engagements between the two candidates, who have only debated once and have no further debates scheduled ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
According to CBS News, Trump was the first to accept the “60 Minutes” invitation. Both campaigns were guaranteed equal airtime. However, Trump’s last encounter with “60 Minutes” in 2020 ended with him walking out of an interview with Lesley Stahl. On Tuesday, at a press conference in Milwaukee, Trump revisited that moment and explained his decision not to participate this year.
“They asked me to do another interview, but first, I want an apology,” Trump said. “The last time, they challenged me on the ‘laptop from hell,’ calling it Russian disinformation. It wasn’t from Russia, it was from Hunter. I’m still waiting for them to admit they were wrong.”
Trump repeatedly emphasized that he felt “60 Minutes” owed him an apology, adding, “I wouldn’t mind doing it, I’ve done ’60 Minutes’ many times. Mike Wallace was great. His son, though? Different ballgame, no talent.”
Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung, however, clarified that the campaign had not agreed to an interview for the special.
