Trump calls CBS correspondent Norah O’Donnell a ‘disgrace’

[0:00] The president did an interview with 60 Minutes Overnight on the event itself and the investigation. [0:06] There was one question he really did not like. Let's get to seeing a chief media analyst Brian [0:12] Stelter for the latest on this. Good morning to you. Long time no see. Yeah, hey, good morning. [0:18] Axios put it really well this morning. It said one uncomfortable question was all it took [0:23] for President Trump to resume hostilities with the media. Here is that exchange with CBS's Nora [0:28] O'Donnell from last night. He writes this quote, administration officials, they are targets. [0:36] And he also wrote this. I'm no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist and traitor to coat [0:42] my hands with his crimes. What's your reaction? Well, I was waiting for you to read that because [0:46] I knew you would because you're you're you're horrible people, horrible people. Yeah, he did [0:52] write that. I'm not a rapist. I didn't rape anybody. Oh, you know, do you think he was [0:58] referring to you? Excuse me. Excuse me. I'm not a pedophile. You read that crap [1:02] from some sick person. You should be ashamed of yourself reading that because I'm not any [1:07] of those things. Mr. President, I was never excuse me. Excuse me. You shouldn't be reading [1:13] that on 60 minutes. You're a disgrace. I want to tell you two things about that. Number one, [1:21] this is President Trump as we've always known him. This is not surprising. What was surprising [1:26] was that on Saturday night he was calm and respectful. He showed, you know, a different demeanor toward [1:32] the press corps. People wonder if that was going to last. Now we know it's not going to last. His [1:36] final post on True Social before the dinner was attacking the New York Times. And now he's mad [1:40] at CBS. I also want to note that CBS is owned by Paramount, which is trying to buy WBD, the parent [1:45] company of CNN. On Thursday night in Washington, Paramount had a dinner honoring the Trump White [1:50] House. The president was there. Nora O'Donnell was reportedly there as well. I don't know that [1:53] for a fact, but it was reported that she was there. So there was this report about schmoozing [1:58] between CBS and Trump. And yet on Sunday night, a tough, important, fair interview by CBS of [2:03] the president, one the president bristled at. Just want viewers to notice that as you read [2:08] about Paramount trying to take over CNN. Can you talk about leading up to the dinner, [2:12] what was going on between Trump and CBS? It's been a long, tenuous relationship, [2:19] Audie. CBS's parent company, Paramount, is seeking regulatory approval to acquire Warner [2:25] Brothers Discovery, which is also the parent company to CNN. And leading up to that, a lot [2:30] of outsiders believe that CBS News and Paramount made certain concessions to be able to ensure [2:36] that they could be in Trump's good graces to get that regulatory approval. So, for example, [2:41] they settled for $16 million, a $20 billion lawsuit that legal experts believe they could have won [2:48] with the president. They canceled Steve Colbert's show, which they said was for financial reasons. [2:54] And then they hired this woman named Barry Weiss. They acquired her website, the Free Press, [2:59] and put her in charge of CBS News. And people feel like all of these moves were done to placate the [3:05] administration. So then for Donald Trump to come out now on live air and bash 60 Minutes, [3:11] it's a really great example of the fact that you could do everything that you want to try to [3:16] game the system, to try to develop a strong relationship with the president. But ultimately, [3:21] at the end of the day, it serves him to continue to call the mainstream media fake news and bash the [3:28] press. At the same time, he talked pretty positively about the dinner experience itself, [3:35] kind of before the attack. And it did seem like somehow CBS, especially with the White House [3:41] Correspondents Dinner President being from CBS, had opened a door to him for the White House press [3:46] core of her relationship that has been so acrimonious. Donald Trump is an opportunist. [3:54] He is one of these people who understands very well how to work the media to be able to get what [4:00] he needs out of the media. And as a result of that, he can have it both ways. He can say that this was [4:06] becoming a very, you know, improved relationship on one end. And then when it doesn't serve him, [4:13] when he's being tossed a question he doesn't like, just revert back to the talking points that [4:18] the mainstream media is fake news and that they're not nice to conservatives. And so that's the reason [4:24] you're going to always see that polar response. He's done that in so many different situations. [4:28] I think one thing that the president does very well, he picks his moments where he knows that [4:33] unity is a winning message, not just for him, but for the entire country. And in a moment where [4:38] there's potentially a very serious attack, he knew that that was the moment to continue on this message [4:44] of unity, as opposed to continuing on this message of fighting between the press corps and his [4:51] administration. The context to this, frankly, is the relationship between the Trump administration [4:56] and CBS, the lawsuit they settled with him, the Ellisons and their purchase with Paramount. And [5:04] I have to say, they had many tables directly in front of the room. And it seemed like a warm [5:10] relationship. When they had a dinner last Thursday where the president attended with David Ellison, [5:14] they also have a regulatory process approving the merger going through, which the president and his [5:19] advisors have said they're looking at very closely. So it wasn't a surprise that the 60 Minutes [5:23] interview was like it wasn't Fox. Yeah, it was this. So what do you make of how it played out? [5:27] Look, I think people have learned this. You discount the way the president talks to the press, [5:34] to any adversary, to any friend, because he's constantly transactional. And he will flip on a [5:38] dime. I mean, he's insulted, I'm sure, everyone here at this table at some point. He's also been, [5:43] you know, nice to us at other points. You know, that interview, if you watch the full-on edited version, [5:49] goes on another 20, 30 minutes. You know, they kind of get back into a rhythm again. [5:53] It's not like he walked out. It's not like he walked out again. [5:56] What struck me is that it's not unusual for the president to lash out on the issue of Epstein. [6:01] Like when I have seen these moments where he might have insulted a reporter in a really striking way, [6:08] it's often around this issue. And is it still a sensitive issue? [6:14] I think just you do see just the uncomfortableness that whenever this topic comes up, and I think we [6:21] should say here that he has never been accused of any wrongdoing in this manner. But the problem is, [6:27] the issue of Jeffrey Epstein has remained a political problem for the Trump administration, [6:31] particularly as we started to get the files out. We see just the close ties that we have [6:37] had with Jeffrey Epstein and kind of the elite circles of the world, which is also why that statement [6:43] for Melania. Trump a few weeks ago was shocking. [6:46] Because you mentioned with the UK royal coming, these questions are going to come up again. [6:50] So it's all in this ether right now. [6:51] Francesca, can I come to you? Because as you mentioned, [6:52] you've actually sat on the board for the White House Correspondence Center. [6:55] They've talked about rescheduling it. Do you think this relationship has improved? [7:02] Between the president and the media. I mean, look, the president does take questions on a regular [7:08] basis from the press corps, including the other night when he got up at the podium and held the [7:12] briefing. And he's making phone calls. Well, sure, he's taking, he's making, well, I don't know, [7:16] and you're, because I think you're calling him. Yeah, I'm calling him. But he's picking up. [7:19] But I mean, but also with Caroline Levitt expected to go out on maternity leave, [7:24] we're expecting to see the president, the vice president, other officials up at the podium so we [7:28] could see the president himself personally brief in the coming the coming days. The opportunity to [7:34] be able to ask the question, the president questions about this moving forward as well [7:38] as other administration officials as we try to, you know, piece together these security measures [7:43] will be really important for journalists. We're all trying to do our job in there too and hold and [7:47] hold folks accountable. And the question we were talking about here is what does it mean to have an [7:50] adversarial relationship, which is a defining aspect of being in the fourth estate versus an acrimonious [7:57] one? Maybe there's no difference? Right. I mean, there's a, I mean, we have an adversarial [8:01] relationship with every president. That is the job. That is what the constitution laid out. I would, [8:05] I have to point out here that the, that the white house and the president banned the associated press [8:09] for the words that we use, uh, from the press pool and our legal effect continues. I just wanted to get [8:13] that on the record. Yeah. Um, but you know, the president has had just, um, whether this is, [8:20] I mean, I know we've been talking about whether this is a turning point. Um, I think that this is, [8:24] this, this has kind of been as postured towards the press for some time, right? Like we are, [8:29] he and the broader inflection point, right? He makes us into a foil and he sees a political [8:34] advantage. But the public also hates it, frankly, the comedians who come roast, not just the president, [8:39] but everyone in the room. Um, it's become a symbol of something and maybe not a symbol of something [8:44] so good. So do you think it's an inflection point? Uh, I think what will happen is the dinner [8:49] will be held again. I don't know if it'll be in 30 days or not. And the president will try and use it [8:54] again. I mean, the first time I've heard him celebrate the first amendment sincerely was [8:59] right afterwards in the briefing room where he says, this wasn't about the press. This was about [9:03] the first amendment. This is about the rights of free speech. It's a tricky relationship. [9:07] It is adversarial, but it's also true that our job is to build relationships with the people, [9:12] the American people elect. We build relationships of trust with these people so we can get information [9:17] from them so that we can deliver it to the American people. And so the fact that we socialize with [9:22] them or go to events with them, I mean, that is the job of reporting. Now, whether we should be [9:27] wearing black tie or, you know, in the case of the gridiron white tie, I mean, that's a separate [9:31] conversation. But I don't think there's anything wrong with reporters working in Washington covering [9:36] the White House, socializing or talking with, uh, White House officials outside of work. [9:41] No. Just to add on to that. Yes, exactly. It is our job, all of us at this table, to ask questions [9:46] that are in the public interest of these administration officials and continue to hold [9:51] them accountable. Well, we'll see if the relationship changes.