Veteran journalist Lesley Stahl has been in the business going on 50 years, and has several
awards, including a few Emmys, to show for it. The Detroit Free Press called her a "pioneer
for women in the news business," and she's been a mainstay on 60 Minutes since March
1991.
CBS News also notes that she's interviewed President Donald Trump several times: She
interviewed him when he was first named the Republican nominee in 2016, in his first television
interview as president-elect, and in a one-on-one as his second year in office came to an end.
With all that history, you might think Stahl and the president would have been more at
ease with one another, but that was clearly not the case. Days before the latest 60 Minutes
interview with the veteran journalist, President Trump was already taking to Twitter to tell
fans he wasn't happy with her or with the way things had gone.
The interview first made waves because Trump famously walked out before it ended, saying
to aide Hope Hicks,
"I think we have enough of an interview here, Hope. OK? That's enough."
But it turns out there was much more to talk about than just his abrupt departure. He tweeted:
"I will soon be giving a first in television history full, unedited preview of the vicious
attempted 'takeout' interview of me by Lesley Stahl of @60Minutes. Watch her constant interruptions
& anger. Compare my full, flowing and 'magnificently brilliant' answers to their Q's."
The interview was so contentious that the White House opted to break an existing agreement
it had with CBS to embargo the video, releasing its own version of the raw footage on social
media. It kicks off with Stahl asking the president if he's ready for tough questions,
and Trump replying…
"You're gonna be fair." "Just be fair."
Stahl then reminds the president that the last time she interviewed him, he asked her
to "bring it on" — but it wasn't the same this time around because, as the president
said, "I'm not looking for that."
The edited 60 Minutes interview viewers saw on Sunday night didn't exactly position Stahl
the way the president might have hoped either. Instead, it showed a calm and collected correspondent
who got under Trump's skin.
One Twitter user posted:
"Lesley Stahl represents every woman in America. Women showed up to march against him the day
he was inaugurated and it will be women who vote him out on Nov 3. Strong women are the
backbone of America."
Another, Ben Meiselas of anti-Trump political action committee MediasTouch, tweeted:
"I am glad Trump leaked the 60 minutes interview earlier. It let us make two videos that got
over 4 million views and was the #1 trend in all America and now we get to watch Lesley
Stahl dismantle Trump again, followed by Pence looking like a spineless coward!!!"
Stahl had her critics, too, of course. One is fellow journalist and conservative commentator
Bill O'Reilly, who offered his take on the interview, via Twitter:
"Here's a fair assessment of the 60 Minutes interviews. Lesley Stahl asked President Trump
a series of 'you are screwing up' questions. Norah O'Donnell asked Biden open-ended questions
where he was not on the defensive as Mr. Trump was and could give non-specific answers."
Actor Randy Quaid also praised the president, posting,
"Trump's handling of Lesley Stahl's attempted Fake News hit job was pure genius, a masterful
parry; & Trump won debate with appropriate outrage tempered with a stinging syringe of
facts. Trump is America's life raft out of this sea of corruption."
A Trump fan also tweeted, seemingly at Stahl:
"This was [the] most horrifically biased interview of your career. You should resign as a journalist."
On balance, though, the praise for Stahl's handling of the tense showdown seemed to outweigh
the criticism. One Twitter user opined:
"Shoutout to #LesleyStahl the real star of tonight's #60Minutes idk how she didn't walk
out of the interview before trump, the way he's talking."
Another noted:
"Trump said Biden can't deal with dictators. Lesley Stahl almost made Trump cry and she's
78 with no weapons, no nation, no army, just her questions and Trump nearly cried."
A third tweeted:
"Last night was an unmitigated disaster for Trump ... folding like a cheap suit under
questioning by Leslie Stahl and then petulantly ending the interview ... How WEAK does someone
have to be to look at this man and see STRENGTH?!"
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