Trump records 60 Minutes interview after GOP midterm defeat
Ross Douthat interviewed the president in the Oval Office Friday, covering the election results, the Iran war, and the economy.
By Nadia Rahman ·
President Donald Trump taped his first in-depth interview since the Republican Party’s sweeping midterm losses. The recording took place in the Oval Office on Friday morning. The segment is scheduled to air on CBS’s “60 Minutes” this Sunday.
Ross Douthat conducted the interview. Douthat is a former New York Times columnist who recently joined the “60 Minutes” team as a correspondent. He is a conservative who has frequently criticized Trump in his writing. Earlier this week, Douthat published a column describing the midterm results as a failure of “the New Right.”
The White House released a photo of Trump and Douthat speaking on Friday afternoon. CBS said the conversation covered the midterms, the composition of the new Congress, and Trump’s remaining years in office. The discussion also addressed the war in Iran and the current state of the economy. Bari Weiss, the editor-in-chief of CBS News, and Nick Bilton, the executive producer of “60 Minutes,” accompanied Douthat to the White House.
Trump has a complex relationship with the program. He last appeared on “60 Minutes” in April, following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. That interview with Norah O’Donnell turned contentious. Trump called O’Donnell a “disgrace” and told the team, “You’re horrible people.”
The president has previously clashed with CBS over the show. In 2024, he refused a traditional pre-election interview while his opponent Kamala Harris participated. Trump then sued CBS, claiming the network deceptively edited Harris’s interview. Legal experts called the suit frivolous, but the owners of CBS at the time paid Trump to settle. They agreed to a $16 million payout, which sparked outrage across the news industry.
The lawsuit and settlement caused turmoil within the “60 Minutes” team. Last year, the Ellison family took control of CBS. Bari Weiss took over CBS News and began altering the show’s culture. In the spring, Weiss forced out top producers and several correspondents. She installed Nick Bilton as executive producer and hired new staff, including Douthat. Douthat interviewed Senate candidates in Michigan on last weekend’s broadcast.
The Sunday episode is expected to draw a large audience. Last Sunday’s show averaged 10 million viewers, aided by an NFL game lead-in. CBS News and CNN are both owned by Skydance but operate as separate entities.
