During an interview with CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl for a segment scheduled to air on Sunday’s 60 Minutes, President Trump repeatedly called out the left-wing journalist for refusing to cover the corruption scandal swirling around Joe and Hunter Biden. In a video of the entire exchange that the President posted to Facebook on Thursday, Stahl can be heard denying that any Biden scandal even exists.
In the middle of the hostile interrogation, Trump remarked: “I wish you would interview Joe Biden like you interview me. It would be so good.” He pointed to a recent example of the Democratic nominee being treated to softball questions from an adoring press:
But when I watch him walk out of a store, he’s in the midst of a scandal, his family is corrupt, okay? He’s corrupt, he’s a corrupt politician. And he’s walking with a ice cream and the question the media asks him, “What kind of ice cream, what flavor ice cream do you have?”
At that point, Stahl interrupted to dismiss the idea that there was a Biden scandal:
TRUMP: And he’s in the midst of a scandal.
STAHL: He’s not.
TRUMP: And he’s taking – of course he is, Lesley.
STAHL: No, come on.
TRUMP: Of course he is. See that –
STAHL: You had the Senate committee of Republicans –
TRUMP: So you’re like – you’re like big tech. You’re protecting him and everyone is, except for a few people.
STAHL: Yeah, but you’re exaggerating. You’re taking something that was investigated by a Republican committee in the Senate –
Given that she was apparently clueless when it came to the growing mountain of new evidence verifying the scandal, Trump tried to educate her:
Lesley, let me ask you something. You think it’s okay for the mayor of Moscow’s wife to give him millions and millions of dollars, $3.5 million, to give his family? Do you think it’s okay for Hunter Biden to say that “we’re giving – we’re giving the big guy 10%” of this massive amount of money they’re taking in? Do you think it’s okay for all of these horrible things that you’ve seen where they’re getting hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars, where China gives them a billion and a half dollars to manage, the family? A billion and a half dollars, and then he’s supposed to negotiate?
Minutes later, after Stahl pressed Trump over whether “your tweets and your name-calling are turning people off,” the President explained why he relies on social media to get his messaging across: “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have social media because the media is, uh, corrupt....In my opinion, the media’s corrupt. But the media is fake. And frankly, if I didn’t have social media, I’d have no way of getting out of my voice.”
As Stahl began to fret over his effort to “discredit” the leftist media, Trump corrected her:
I don’t have to discredit you....You’ve discredited yourself....Lesley, you’ve discredited yourself. When you say that you’re not gonna cover Biden, you’re gonna ask him what flavor ice cream he has....Instead of, why did Hunter get $3.5 million from Moscow? Instead of, why is an energy company paying your son $183,000 a month or whatever they’re paying him, and he has no experience in energy. You know, you discredit yourself. I don’t have to discredit you.
Stahl was aghast that the President thought legitimate questions about whether Joe Biden and his family have engaged in corruption were worth discussing: “And you’re making this one of the hottest, most important issues....I mean, this is the most important issue in the country right now?”
Trump shot back: “It’s a very important issue to find out whether or not a man is corrupt, who’s running for president, who’s accepted money from China and from Ukraine and from Russia. Yeah, I think that’s an important issue.” Stahl then made this wild false claim: “All these things have been investigated and dismissed.”
The President seemed stunned by her declaration: “It’s incredible the way you can try and say this and sit there and look me in the eye and say it....Take a look at what’s going on, Lesley. And then you say that shouldn’t be discussed.”
As Trump again recited the evidence, Stahl did the reporter’s equivalent of placing her hands over her ears and singing loudly, insisting: “...it can’t be verified....It can’t be verified.”
Of course, 20 years ago, in the midst of the 2000 presidential election, Stahl and 60 Minutes had no problem pushing outrageous unverified claims against Republican presidential candidate and then-Texas Governor George W. Bush.
One wonders, if Trump didn’t post the full video of interview ahead of time, would the discussion of the Hunter Biden scandal have ever made it to air?
Here is a transcript of that portion of the exchange, conducted on October 20:
(...)
DONALD TRUMP: I wish you would interview Joe Biden like you interview me. It would be so good. You know what, the –
LESLEY STAHL: You like this I thought. I thought you like sparring.
TRUMP: I don’t mind it, I don’t mind it. But when I watch him walk out of a store, he’s in the midst of a scandal, his family is corrupt, okay? He’s corrupt, he’s a corrupt politician. And he’s walking with a ice cream and the question the media asks him, “What kind of ice cream, what flavor ice cream do you have?” And he’s in the midst of a scandal.
STAHL: He’s not.
TRUMP: And he’s taking – of course he is, Lesley.
STAHL: No, come on.
TRUMP: Of course he is. See that –
STAHL: You had the Senate committee of Republicans –
TRUMP: So you’re like – you’re like big tech. You’re protecting him and everyone is, except for a few people.
STAHL: Yeah, but you’re exaggerating. You’re taking something that was investigated by a Republican committee in the Senate –
TRUMP: Lesley, let me ask you something. You think it’s okay for the mayor of Moscow’s wife to give him millions and millions of dollars, $3.5 million, to give his family? Do you think it’s okay for Hunter Biden to say that “we’re giving – we’re giving the big guy 10%” of this massive amount of money they’re taking in? Do you think it’s okay for all of these horrible things that you’ve seen where they’re getting hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars, where China gives them a billion and a half dollars to manage, the family? A billion and a half dollars, and then he’s supposed to negotiate? Let me tell you, it’s the biggest – second biggest scandal. The biggest scandal was when they spied on my campaign. They spied on my campaign.
STAHL: No, there’s no – real evidence of that.
TRUMP: Of course there is. It’s all over the place. Lesley, they spied on my campaign and they got caught.
STAHL: Sir, can I say something. You know, this is 60 Minutes, and we can’t put on things we can’t verify.
TRUMP: No, you won’t put it on because it’s bad for Biden.
STAHL: We can’t put on things we can’t verify.
TRUMP: Lesley, they spied on my campaign.
STAHL: Well, we can’t verify that.
TRUMP: It’s been totally verified. It’s been – just go down and get the papers. They spied on my campaign, they got caught.
STAHL: No.
TRUMP: And then they went much further than that and they got caught. And you will see that, Lesley. And you know that, but you just don’t wanna put it on the air.
STAHL: No, as a matter of fact, I don’t know that.
TRUMP: Okay.
STAHL: And you’re out there –
TRUMP: Why don’t you get back to your interview and let’s go.
(...)
STAHL: Do you think that your tweets and your name-calling are turning people off?
TRUMP: No, I think I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have social media because the media is, uh, corrupt.
STAHL: The name-calling, let’s talk about –
TRUMP: In my opinion, the media’s corrupt. But the media is fake. And frankly, if I didn’t have social media, I’d have no way of getting out of my voice.
STAHL: Do you know what you told me a long time ago when I asked why you keep saying “fake” media. You said to me, “I say that because I need to discredit you so that when you say negative things about me, no one will believe you.”
TRUMP: I don’t have to discredit you.
STAHL: But that’s what you’ve told me.
TRUMP: You’ve discredited yourself.
STAHL: You told me that –
TRUMP: Lesley, you’ve discredited yourself. When you say that you’re not gonna cover Biden, you’re gonna ask him what flavor ice cream he has, okay.
STAHL: That’s not me.
TRUMP: Instead of, why did Hunter get $3.5 million from Moscow? Instead of, why is an energy company paying your son $183,000 a month or whatever they’re paying him, and he has no experience in energy. You know, you discredit yourself. I don’t have to discredit you.
STAHL: So this story about Hunter and his laptop, some repair shop found it. The sources, Steve Bannon and Rudy Giuliani.
TRUMP: I don’t know anything about that, I just know it’s a laptop. And they haven’t –
STAHL: And you’re making this one of the hottest, most important issues.
TRUMP: I don’t know about the two gentleman you mentioned –
STAHL: I mean, this is the most important issue in the country right now?
TRUMP: It’s a very important issue to find out whether or not a man is corrupt, who’s running for president, who’s accepted money from China and from Ukraine and from Russia. Yeah, I think that’s an important issue.
STAHL: All these things have been investigated and dismissed.
TRUMP: It’s incredible the way you can try and say this and sit there and look me in the eye and say it.
STAHL: A Republican committee –
TRUMP: He accepted money, his family, from Russia, from Ukraine, from China and from other places. His brother, who didn’t have experience, became a big builder in Iraq without experience. Take a look at what’s going on, Lesley. And then you say that shouldn’t be discussed.
STAHL: I’m saying –
TRUMP: It’s the biggest scandal out there, Lesley.
STAHL: And you think it’s the biggest issue to campaign on?
TRUMP: I think it’s – I think it’s one of the biggest scandals I’ve ever seen, and you don’t cover it. You wanna talk about –
STAHL: Well, because it can’t be verified.
TRUMP: You wanna talk about insignificant things.
STAHL: I’m telling you –
TRUMP: Of course it can be verified. Excuse me, they found the laptop. Lesley, Lesley.
STAHL: It can’t be verified.
TRUMP: What can’t be verified?
STAHL: The laptop.
TRUMP: Why do you say that?
STAHL: Because –
TRUMP: Even the family hasn’t – the family on the laptop. He’s gone into hiding for five days. He’s gone into hiding.
STAHL: He’s preparing for your debate.
TRUMP: Oh, it’s taken him five days to prepare. I doubt it, I doubt.
(...)
