Trump Storms Out Of 60 Minutes Interview With Lesley Stahl - Then Chastises HER For Not Wearing A Mask?!

As we creep ever closer towards election day, we’ve been expecting President Donald Trump’s antics to become more and more ridiculous (and alarming). Unfortunately, he’s definitely been proving us right.

On top of an ill-advised return to the campaign trail while being treated with an experimental drug cocktail for his case of coronavirus, he has also been lashing out at national figures like Dr. Anthony Fauci, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo, and of course opponent Joe Biden, as well as members of the press. He’s even shouting for his enemies to be locked up — more than usual — calling reporters criminals.

On Tuesday, the president sat down with “criminal” Lesley Stahl for an interview with 60 Minutes on CBS. According to CNN, Trump “abruptly ended” the conversation after about 45 minutes and “told the network he believed they had enough material to use.” He then refused to appear for a scheduled “walk and talk” interview with Vice President Mike Pence.

Seriously?! It’s a one-on-one interview! It’s like a debate where he’s the only candidate, and he can’t even make it all the way through?!

What upset him so much??

One source for the New York Times suggested that the interview ran longer than the president’s aides had prepared him for. Leaving because he was bored and antsy is a childish but frankly unsurprising reason at this point. We’ve heard from many sources over the years how he is unable to read intelligence briefs of any length and has to be referred to by name every so often so as not to lose interest in any presentation.

Other sources said he had “grown irritated with Ms. Stahl’s lines of questioning,” which certainly lines up with his oft-repeated line about being treated “unfairly” by the media, i.e. facing any form of criticism or accountability.

In an even less surprising turn of events, Trump added fuel to the fire of the controversy on Twitter following the abandoned interview. He first tweeted a brief clip of Stahl speaking with two masked CBS producers. He wrote:

“Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes not wearing a mask in the White House after her interview with me. Much more to come.”

Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes not wearing a mask in the White House after her interview with me. Much more to come. pic.twitter.com/0plZG6a4fH

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 20, 2020

Oh, so NOW we care about wearing masks???

We won’t even get into how ridiculous it is for Trump to criticize Stahl for not wearing a mask after mocking coronavirus safety regulations for the entire duration of the pandemic. But for the record, the NYT confirmed that the reporter (who was hospitalized with COVID-19 earlier in the pandemic) wore her mask upon entering the White House up until the filmed interview itself. The entire CBS crew was also tested before the shoot.

The president followed up his hypocritical accusation with a set of posts that seemingly support the theory he walked because he didn’t like the questions he was asked. He tweeted:

“I am pleased to inform you that, for the sake of accuracy in reporting, I am considering posting my interview with Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes, PRIOR TO AIRTIME! This will be done so that everybody can get a glimpse of what a FAKE and BIASED interview is all about…
…Everyone should compare this terrible Electoral Intrusion with the recent interviews of Sleepy Joe Biden!”

So, having to answer for your actions as a leader in your own words is an “electoral intrusion”? An intrusion on what? Your ability to lie your way into a second term?

Note the wording that he’s “considering posting” it btw. As usual, he postures like he has some smoking gun evidence, never presents it, then acts as if he’s been exonerated. Every single time.

We’d also like to point out that hostility to the press is a hallmark of fascist leadership. And if Trump doesn’t have the patience to sit through an interview that isn’t entirely friendly to him (or licking his boots — cough, Fox News, cough), that’s not exactly a quality we’re looking for in a president… in addition to his other many terrible qualities.

Trump’s appearance on 60 Minutes, which will include interviews with Pence, Biden, and Kamala Harris — is set to air on Sunday. We’ll be VERY interested to see what all the fuss was about then (unless Trump releases it first of course!).

[Image via WENN/Instar & CBS/YouTube]