President Trump seems to be calling the shots at CBS News these days — at least when it comes to last week’s interview with anchor Tony Dokoupil.
Dokoupil — the new face of the “CBS Evening News” — landed a 13-minute interview with Trump, which was broadcast Tuesday from a Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan.
The New York Times reports that after they wrapped their discussion, Trump’s chief spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, walked up to Dokoupil and his team and issued a stern warning from the president.
According to a recording obtained by the NYT … Leavitt told Dokoupil that Trump wanted to “make sure you guys don’t cut the tape, make sure the interview is out in full.” The NYT says Dokoupil responded CBS was “doing it” Trump’s way.
🚨 NEW AUDIO: Karoline Leavitt just threatened CBS News over Trump’s interview:
“Air it in full… or we’ll sue your ass off.”
The White House is now openly trying to bully the media into compliance.
This isn’t “transparency.” It’s intimidation. pic.twitter.com/8pMBBJzYhC
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) January 18, 2026
@allenanalysis
Then Leavitt dropped a bomb, warning that Trump said, ‘If it’s not out in full, we’ll sue your ass off.’
You may recall … Trump filed a 2024 lawsuit against CBS over the way a “60 Minutes” piece was edited — and the network’s parent company decided to settle it for $16 million.
On Saturday, CBS released a statement, saying, “The moment we booked this interview, we made the independent decision to air it unedited and in its entirety.”
Leavitt also commented, saying the “American people deserve to watch President Trump’s full interviews, unedited, no cuts. And guess what? The interview ran in full.”
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