Overview
- The exchange was recorded immediately after a roughly 13-minute interview with President Trump at a Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, according to the New York Times.
- Press secretary Karoline Leavitt relayed Trump’s instruction to air the segment uncut and said, “If it’s not out in full, we’ll sue your ass off,” per the audio.
- Leavitt later said the public deserves unedited presidential interviews and noted the segment “ran in full,” while some CBS staff present interpreted her tone as jocular.
- CBS aired the interview in its entirety that night and said it had independently decided in advance to broadcast it unedited; no lawsuit has been filed.
- The warning drew on recent history, as Trump’s 2024 suit over an edited 60 Minutes segment ended with a $16 million Paramount settlement, a backdrop to scrutiny of CBS under Skydance and editor in chief Bari Weiss.