In Erie, Pennsylvania on Tuesday night, Donald Trump taunted 60 Minutes anchor Lesley Stahl after he abruptly ended a White House interview with the CBS News veteran.
Trump's rally taunts were preceded by a series of Twitter attacks on Stahl in which he attempted to mask-shame her and threatened to preempt the show's broadcast with one of his own.
Tweeted Trump: “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……Everyone should compare this terrible Electoral Intrusion with the recent interviews of Sleepy Joe Biden!”
CNN reports: “After camera crews set up at the White House on Monday, Trump sat down with host Lesley Stahl for about 45 minutes on Tuesday before he abruptly ended the interview and told the network he believed they had enough material to use, according to two sources.Trump walked out of the interview because he was frustrated with Stahl's line of questioning, one source said. Another person said the bulk of the interview was focused on coronavirus.”
Regarding the mask-shaming, CNN adds: “A person familiar with the situation told CNN that the image from the tweet shows Stahl with her producers immediately after Trump ended the interview. Stahl had not yet gone back to get her personal belongings to put her mask back on. She had a mask on from the time she entered the White House and just before the interview began.”
On Wednesday morning, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows tried to downplay Trump's bad behavior.