Donald Trump sat down with Norah O’Donnell on Friday for an interview for 60 Minutes, marking his return to the program after declining to participate in its election special last year, a network spokesperson confirmed.
In fact, the O’Donnell sit-down took place exactly one year since Trump filed a lawsuit against CBS over the way that 60 Minutes edited an interview with Kamala Harris, then Trump’s 2024 rival. Many legal experts called the lawsuit baseless, but CBS parent Paramount settled for $16 million, as the company needed the administration’s regulatory approval for its acquisition by Skydance.
Since then, Paramount under new owner David Ellison has hired Bari Weiss, an opinion columnist who created the center-right site Free Press, as CBS News editor in chief. Paramount also put in place Kenneth Weinstein, former head of the conservative think tank Hudson Institute, as an ombudsman to take viewer complaints.
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Trump did not participate in the 60 Minutes election special last year, something that was noted on the program then. The show said that Trump backed out of the interview after originally agreeing to it, but his campaign claimed it was never officially set.
Trump, still in his first term, did sit down with 60 Minutes for a 2020 election special with Lesley Stahl, but he cut the interview short. The Trump White House released a video version of the interview in advance of the broadcast.
As the regulatory approval for the Skydance-Paramount merger was pending earlier this year, 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens resigned, saying he was no longer allowed to make independent decisions about the show. In May, Wendy McMahon, who had defended the show, was ousted as CEO of CBS News and Stations.
Semafor first reported on the Trump interview.