WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has threatened legal action against CBS News if the network broadcasts an edited version of a recent interview conducted with anchor Tony Dokoupil, according to reports.
The interview, which aired Tuesday following the president’s visit to Detroit, has become the latest flashpoint in Trump’s long-standing friction with the network over its editorial practices.
“Make sure you guys don’t cut the tape; make sure the interview is out in full,” Leavitt reportedly told Dokoupil, quoting Trump. She further cautioned that if the interview were edited, the president intended to sue the network.
The ultimatum follows a previous legal battle between Trump and CBS. In 2024, Trump filed a lawsuit against the network over its handling of a 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, alleging that deceptive editing misled the public. CBS eventually paid $16 million to settle that suit.
Spokespersons for CBS News have not yet issued a formal statement regarding the most recent threat or whether the network intends to release the unedited footage in its entirety.
Trump has frequently criticized major news outlets for their editing processes, often referred to by his supporters as “selective editing,” arguing that such practices strip his comments of necessary context.
