CBS viewers recently saw President Donald Trump be interviewed on the network, just as the network has been undergoing big changes. Since this, however, it has come out that the network was at one point threatened with legal repercussions following the moment. Since then, a few statements have also been made concerning the story.
President Donald Trump Was Recently Interviewed On CBS While In Michigan
CBS Evening News is a daily evening news broadcast, originally known as CBS Television News. Existing under different names, the series has existed in some form since 1941.
Recently, Tony Dokoupil took over anchor duties on the long-running series. Officially, his first day was on January 5, 2026, but he actually started a few days earlier, on January 3, to announce breaking news.
Through his new role, Dokoupil recently got to interview President Trump from a Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan. The episode was broadcast this past Tuesday.
During the moment, Trump issued a warning for Iran, discussed the shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent, and talked about Jerome Powell. As previously reported, Trump even mused if Dokoupil would even have his current job, or at least his current salary, if it were not for him.
CBS Has Issued A Statement Concerning The Interview This Past Saturday
However, following this moment, Dokoupil and his team reportedly received a warning from the president’s team. Karoline Leavitt apparently told Dokoupil that Trump wanted to “make sure you guys don’t cut the tape.”
Leavitt continued, saying, “Make sure the interview is out in full.” A recording of this audio was reportedly later obtained by The New York Times.
According to the outlet, Dokoupil responded that CBS was “doing it” the way Trump wanted it. Following this, Leavitt reportedly issued a warning that Trump said, “If it’s not out in full, we’ll sue your a** off.”
As noted by TMZ, Trump filed a lawsuit against a 60 Minutes piece that was edited back in 2024. At the time, the network’s parent company settled it for $16 million.
🚨 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
On Saturday, CBS also released a statement over the decision to air the interview uncut. As it read, “The moment we booked this interview, we made the independent decision to air it unedited and in its entirety.”
In addition, Leavitt also issued a statement, “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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John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.