Former President Donald Trump is no longer on the clock. CBS News announced today that Trump has cancelled a planned appearance on its long-running newsmagazine, 60 Minutes. Vice President Kamala Harris will still sit for an interview, set to be broadcast on Oct. 7.
60 Minutes announced Trump’s decision to drop out on X, formerly known as Twitter, hours before CBS News’ vice presidential debate between Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. J.D. Vance.
“For over half a century, 60 Minutes has invited the Democratic and Republican tickets to appear on our broadcast as Americans head to the polls,” the program’s statement read. “After initially accepting 60 Minutes’ request for an interview with Scott Pelley, former President Trump’s campaign has decided not to participate.”
A Programming Note: 60 Minutes is scheduled to air a primetime election special on a Monday edition of the broadcast on October 7 at 8 PM. For over half a century, 60 Minutes has invited the Democratic and Republican tickets to appear on our broadcast as Americans head to the…
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 1, 2024
Trump campaign spokesperson Stephen Cheung quickly issued his own response on X, referring to the 60 Minutes post as “fake news.”
“There were initial discussions, but nothing was ever scheduled or locked in,” Cheung claimed. In a separate post, he referred to the newsmagazine as a “relic of the past.”
Fake News. 60 Minutes begged for an interview, even after they were caught lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop back in 2020. There were initial discussions, but nothing was ever scheduled or locked in.
They also insisted on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented. https://t.co/l7xIacc1JK
— Steven Cheung (@TheStevenCheung) October 1, 2024
Scheduled to air at 8 p.m. on Oct. 7, the election-themed episode would have paired Pelley with Trump and Bill Whitaker with Harris. Whitaker’s interview will remain part of the show, and the newsmagazine is inviting Trump to reconsider his decision.
“Our original invitation to former President Donald Trump to be interviewed on 60 Minutes stands,” the 60 Minutes statement concludes.
Since the Sept. 10 debate, Trump has largely kept his on-camera interviews with legacy media outlets to Fox News, including a rare late night appearance on Gutfeld! that netted over 5 million viewers. Harris recently sat her first solo post-debate interview with a major network, speaking with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle. Nearly 3 million viewers watched that appearance.