CBS Journalist Lesley Stahl has been in the business for nearly 50 years, with decades under her belt reporting for CBS' 60 Minutes.
On Tuesday, news broke that President Donald Trump had abruptly ended an interview with Stahl at the White House, after reportedly objecting to her line of questioning after 45 minutes.
Trump seemed to confirm the reporting in a bizarre series of Twitter attacks against the veteran journalist.
The President first tweeted a six second video of Stahl not wearing a mask, though the New York Times reported Stahl was wearing a mask for nearly the entire interaction except for the interview portion.
The video tweeted by Trump shows Stahl in the immediate moments after the interview.
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
He then threatened to release the interview early, citing "the sake of accuracy in reporting."
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...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 20, 2020
...Everyone should compare this terrible Electoral Intrusion with the recent interviews of Sleepy Joe Biden!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 20, 2020
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany also tweeted a picture of her handing Stahl a book purportedly containing "just a small part" of what the President has done for healthcare.
McEnany claimed Stahl was amazed.
Handing Lesley Stahl just a small part of what President @realDonaldTrump has done for healthcare in the United States.
She couldn't believe how HUGE it was and said, “I can hardly lift this‼️" pic.twitter.com/RSWrzKo1or
— Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) October 20, 2020
Stahl is the latest target of a years-long string of attacks from Trump and his allies against the press. Trump's Twitter screed against her came just weeks after Trump cast aspersions on CNN's Kristen Welker and NBC's Savanna Guthrie, calling the latter a "crazed lunatic."
But a resurfaced video from 2018 largely explains why Trump attacks the press so frequently—and it's from a story recounted by Stahl herself.
Watch below.
While Trump attacks Lesley Stahl before his 60 Minutes interview airs, a reminder that he once told her exactly why he attacks the press:
“I do it to discredit you all & demean you all so when you write negative stories about me, no one will believe you."pic.twitter.com/OWCK1FrPLV
— Rantt Media (@RanttMedia) October 20, 2020
Stahl described meeting Trump in his office after the 2016 election, where he continued berating the press even when there were no cameras, just him, Stahl, and a CBS producer in the room.
Stahl claimed she admonished Trump for his constant derision toward the free press and asked him the reason for it.
According to Stahl, Trump said:
"You know why I do it? I do it to discredit you all and demean you all so that when you write negative stories about me, no one will believe you."
People weren't surprised.
Talk about saying the quiet part out loud. It's one of the first tactics in the authoritarian playbook and it's worked on many in Trump's base. https://t.co/VkZCFZpyjg
— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) October 20, 2020
Many WH reporters know this. 🤦🏼♀️ https://t.co/SPNJAKmC0f
— Bridgette 🌊 #JoeHasMyVote 🌊 Trump has got to go (@bridgettyh) October 20, 2020
And there it is: “fake news" is a cover for a thin skinned, fearful “fake" POTUS #trumpconfession https://t.co/FWgSDUxr37
— Owain Yeoman (@OYeoman) October 20, 2020
We knew this, but it's still important to hear it - especially today. https://t.co/EpZ8ehy9zX
— Jill Shirley (@jillsh3) October 20, 2020
People pushed back against Trump's Twitter attacks on Stahl.
Something we don't talk about enough is Trump's ridiculous misuse of the word 'fake'. How can an interview be 'fake' if he sat down and did it with her for 45 mins? It can be 'biased' but it literally can't be 'fake'. It was a real interview! Which he walked (ran?) out of. https://t.co/05yENrjMBe
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) October 20, 2020
You know your campaign is going really well when your final two weeks messaging is "Lesley Stahl didn't wear a mask during this 5-second clip." https://t.co/c7f9ck5H49
— Andrew Kirell (@AndrewKirell) October 20, 2020
So you agree? You think not wearing a mask is bad and something to be ashamed of? https://t.co/8jbQ3k3Tja pic.twitter.com/ye5azMn8Yi
— Trævis (@twrawson) October 20, 2020
It's unclear what happened in the interview to prompt such an attempt to preemptively discredit Stahl—an attempt not just from the President but the White House press secretary as well.
The interview is set to air Sunday, unless Trump shares it first.
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