The Hill is out with the first readback on the session with Norah O’Donnell…..
President Trump returned to “60 Minutes” on Sunday for his first sit-down interview with the program and with CBS News since its parent company earlier this year settled a lawsuit with the president.
Correspondent Norah O’Donnell sat down with Trump on Friday at his Mar-a-Lago estate, where there was a passing mention of the contentious history between the president and the network, plus numerous questions on the ongoing government shutdown, foreign policy and some of Trump’s more controversial moves since retaking office in January.
Here are five takeaways from the interview.
Trump sits down with ‘60 Minutes’ after lawsuit
The sit-down between Trump and O’Donnell marked the latest twist in the acrimonious relationship between the president and “60 Minutes.”
Trump made a reference to the settlement paid to him by the network’s parent company, and he ribbed O’Donnell at multiple points.
“And actually 60 Minutes paid me a lotta money. And you don’t have to put this on, because I don’t want to embarrass you, and I’m sure you’re not — you have a great — I think you have a great, new leader, frankly, who’s the young woman that’s leading your whole enterprise is a great — from what I know,” Trump said, referencing recently appointed CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss….
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It was the first time Trump had done an interview with CBS since he sued the network and its parent company, Paramount Global, over an interview former Vice President Kamala Harris did with “60 Minutes” last year….
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Trump was asked about his recent direction for the government to resume nuclear testing, a move that has sparked both logistical questions and concerns about escalating tensions.
In defending the decision, Trump argued that countries other than North Korea were testing nuclear weapons.
“Russia’s testing nuclear weapons,” Trump said. “And China’s testing them, too. You just don’t know about it.”…
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The president has not endorsed a candidate in the race, but he indicated on “60 Minutes” that he viewed Cuomo as the lesser of two evils with Mamdani.
“It’s gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York. Because if you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there,” Trump said. “So I don’t know that he’s won, and I’m not a fan of Cuomo one way or the other, but if it’s gonna be between a bad Democrat and a communist, I’m gonna pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you.”…
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Sunday’s interview aired as the government shutdown was nearing the record for the longest in history.
But Trump did not offer any new ideas for how to break the impasse, telling O’Donnell his plan was to continue to force Democrats to vote on reopening the government.
“I mean, the Republicans are voting almost unanimously to end it, and the Democrats keep voting against ending it,” Trump said. “You know, they’ve never had this. This has happened like 18 times before. The Democrats always voted for an extension, always saying, ‘Give us an extension, we’ll work it out.’”
Democrats have repeatedly rejected a continuing resolution put forward by Republicans that would fund the government at existing levels, insisting that any funding deal include commitments to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year. The expiration of those subsidies is set to cause a sharp increase in premiums….
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Trump brushed off questions about some of the more controversial aspects of his second term so far, such as the aggressive tactics of immigration agents and the indictments of his political rivals.
O’Donnell asked Trump if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids had gone “too far,” citing recent incidents where officers deployed tear gas in a residential neighborhood of Chicago and smashed car windows.
“No. I think they haven’t gone far enough because we’ve been held back by the judges, by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama,” Trump said.
“You’re okay with those tactics?” O’Donnell asked.
“Yeah, because you have to get the people out,” Trump said.
O’Donnell also pressed Trump on the indictments of former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former national security adviser John Bolton, all of whom have been outspoken critics of the president.
Those indictments have raised alarms that Trump is using the Justice Department to target his opponents and exerting political pressure on the typically independent agency.
Trump claimed the indictments were “the opposite” of retribution, pointing to his own various criminal cases during the 2024 campaign.
I think I’ve been very mild-mannered,” Trump said.
“You’re looking at a man who was indicted many times, and I had to beat the rap,” Trump said. “Otherwise I couldn’t have run for president. They tried to get me not to run for president by going after me and by indicting me.”
image…CNN
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