Faced with tough questions, US President Donald Trump walks out of TV interview

CBS on Sunday broadcast the moment President Donald Trump cut short a "60 Minutes" interview with Lesley Stahl, having become irritated by what she had promised would be "tough" questions, BusinessInsider.in has reported.

The tense interview had been the subject of much discussion since it was recorded on Tuesday, especially after the president took the unusual step of posting the entire interview on Facebook before CBS aired it. Trump said on Twitter that the exchange showed the "bias, hatred and rudeness on behalf of 60 Minutes and CBS."

The interview was part of what CBS described as an election-year tradition for "60 Minutes" to hold conversations with the Democratic and Republican presidential and vice-presidential nominees.

"We had prepared to talk about the many issues and questions facing the president," Stahl said in a clip before the interview. "But in what has become an all-too-public dust-up, the conversation was cut short. It began politely, but ended, regrettably, contentiously."

The interview began with Stahl asking whether Trump was comfortable with "tough questions." Trump replied that he wasn't and told Stahl that he wanted her to be "fair."

The interview became increasingly tense. Stahl challenged the president on issues including the coronavirus pandemic, his rhetoric at campaign rallies, and his unproven corruption accusations against Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

Late in the interview, Trump complained that Stahl had "brought up a lot of subjects that were inappropriately brought up," then once more objected to Stahl's promise to ask him tough questions. "Your first statement was 'Are you ready for tough questions?' That's no way to talk," he said.

A "60 Minutes" producer then said that only a few minutes remained in the interview. Trump turned to his advisor Hope Hicks and said: "I think we have enough of an interview here, Hope. OK? That's enough. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go meet for two seconds, OK?"

He left the room. Stahl said she had "a lot of questions I didn't ask" and waited to see whether the president would return. He did not.

Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, entered the room and gave Stahl a large book that she described as Trump's "healthcare plan." The show later confirmed that the book was filled with existing executive orders and legislation enacted under Trump, as well as pages of a document called the America First Healthcare Plan.