How 60 Minutes found out Donald Trump would not participate in an election special

It has been a convention for greater than half a century that the key occasion candidates for president sit down with 60 Minutes in October. In 1968, it was Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey. This yr, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump accepted invites. 

Sadly, final week, Trump canceled. 

The Trump marketing campaign had mentioned that the interview could be this previous Thursday at Mar-A-Lago, Trump’s Florida dwelling. It additionally requested whether or not 60 Minutes would meet 78-year-old Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, the place the Republican candidate for president was grazed by a bullet in an assassination try. 60 Minutes agreed. On Sept. 9, Trump communications director Steven Cheung despatched a textual content that learn: “I am working with our advance workforce to see logistically if Butler would work along with the sit down.”

Days later, Cheung referred to as to say “the president mentioned sure.”

Then, every week in the past, Trump backed out. The marketing campaign supplied shifting explanations. First, it complained that 60 Minutes would truth verify the interview. 

“There have been preliminary discussions, however nothing was ever scheduled or locked in,” Cheung mentioned in a put up on X, previously Twitter. “In addition they insisted on doing reside truth checking, which is unprecedented.”

60 Minutes truth checks each story it broadcasts. 

Later, Trump mentioned he wanted an apology for his interview in 2020. Trump claims correspondent Lesley Stahl mentioned, in that interview, that Hunter Biden’s controversial laptop computer got here from Russia. She by no means mentioned that. 

“The place’s my apology? They need to apologize,” Trump mentioned on Tuesday evening at a Milwaukee press convention. “They have been flawed on every little thing. So I would wish to get an apology. So I’ve requested them for an apology.”

Trump has mentioned Harris would not do interviews as a result of she will’t deal with them. He has declined to take part in a second debate with Harris. So the Monday evening election particular could have been the final alternative between now and Election Day for a nationwide viewers to listen to from each candidates on a variety of points, together with the financial system, immigration, reproductive rights and the wars within the Center East and Europe. Each campaigns understood this particular would go forward if both candidate backed out. Harris, who participated in an interview with 60 Minutes, addressed the difficulty.

“If he isn’t going to provide your viewers the flexibility to have a significant, considerate dialog, query and reply with you, then watch his rallies,” Harris mentioned. “You are going to hear conversations which are about himself and all of his private grievances.”