NEW YORK – “60 Minutes” is scheduling its quadrennial interview special with the presidential candidates to air in less than a month, hoping for the best even after its session with former President Donald Trump went off the rails in 2020.
With no other debates between Trump and his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, currently scheduled after Tuesday's event in Philadelphia, a “60 Minutes” sitdown would represent one of the few times left for voters to evaluate the two candidates back to back.
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The Sunday newsmagazine wants to do it on Monday, Oct. 7, since CBS is airing the American Music Awards the night before.
Neither candidate has yet agreed to appear but their campaigns have been talking to CBS, said Bill Owens, executive producer of “60 Minutes.” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said “stay tuned” when asked about his candidate's plans. The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Associated Press.
“I'm confident that this is going to work,” Owens said. “For either campaign, it wouldn't be a great look if they turned down an opportunity to be on ‘60 Minutes.’”
The vice presidential candidates, Tim Walz and JD Vance, are also invited to participate, he said.
Four years ago, then-President Trump walked out early following a contentious interview with the show's Lesley Stahl, and his campaign later sent out an unedited tape of the session that it had taken. While campaigns are allowed to tape the interviews, “I would hope that they don't do that again,” Owens said. “I hope that we have a serious conversation.”
Correspondent Scott Pelley, not Stahl, has been assigned to interview Trump this year; Owens said that was not in response to what happened four years ago.
During that interview, Stahl interrupted Trump to say “you know that's not true” when he claimed to have presided over the “greatest economy in the history of the country.”
Trump later criticized Stahl's “constant interruptions and anger.” When an offscreen voice gave the two of them a five-minute warning for the expected end of the interview, Trump said “I think we've had enough” and walked away.
Later, Stahl said that Trump and Vice President Mike Pence had insulted “60 Minutes” by essentially giving campaign speeches and not answering questions.
“60 Minutes” has assigned Bill Whitaker to interview Harris. The old-school “60 Minutes” style, where the interviews are taped in advance and crafted into a story by editors, is becoming more a rarity in campaigns, with candidates more commonly seen in live interviews or appearances.
“60 Minutes” begins another season on Sunday, with Pelley examining the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Continuing an experiment from last year, the newsmagazine will have six expanded 90-minute editions in coming months.
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David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.