In a dramatic moment during a “60 Minutes” interview that aired on Sunday, Donald Trump threatened to walk out. The interview, conducted by CBS News anchor Norah O’Donnell, marked Trump’s first engagement with the network since his contentious lawsuit regarding a CBS-edited interview with Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election cycle. O’Donnell focused her questioning on Trump’s controversial pardon of cryptocurrency billionaire Changpeng Zhao, who had admitted to money laundering violations and received a four-month prison sentence.

O’Donnell’s persistent inquiries centered on the pardon in light of Trump’s family’s increasing ties to the cryptocurrency sector. When pressed, Trump hinted at leaving the interview, though the tense moment didn’t make it to the final cut. “Norah, my sons are involved in it,” Trump remarked, defending his decision. “I’m pleased they are, as it seems to be a promising industry. They’re managing a business, not holding government positions.”

O’Donnell followed up with a question about potential corruption perceptions, prompting a stern warning from Trump to avoid further probes into the contentious pardon. “I’d prefer you didn’t ask,” Trump retorted. “But I allowed it. You approached me saying, ‘May I ask another question?’ I agreed. This is it… I don’t mind. I could have walked away. Didn’t need to answer. But I’m proud to. Why? Because we’ve embraced crypto.”

Trump, initially, claimed he had no idea who Zhao was before launching into his angry tirade against O’Donnell. ‘Well, here’s the thing, I know nothing about it because I’m too busy,’ the president told the anchor. CBS aired the 28-minute version of the Trump interview on television, and later released the full 73-minute interview online. Trump’s meltdown on O’Donnell, however, did not make the final cut of either video, but was included in the release of the full interview transcript.

Trump’s 60 Minutes appearance was his first interview with the flagship CBS show since he sued the network in October 2024 over a ‘deceptively edited’ interview with Kamala Harris at the height of the campaign. The lawsuit was settled in July for $16 million, which Trump said the network paid as a result of the controversy. The president went on to justify his pardon of Zhao by claiming the ‘corrupt’ Biden-led Justice Department had over prosecuted the billionaire.

‘It’s a corrupt government. Biden was the most corrupt president and he was the worst president we’ve ever had. I only care about one thing,’ Trump added. ‘Will crypto be — will we be number one in crypto? Crypto has turned out, and in that sense I’ve been right.’ ‘Crypto’s turned out to be a massive industry, if you wanna call it that. And I’m very proud to say that we are far and away ahead of China and everybody else. Now, China is getting into it very big, right now. If you wanna go after people, you’re gonna kill that industry.’