In an intense exchange that captured viewers’ attention, Donald Trump nearly walked out of a 60 Minutes interview that aired this past Sunday. His interaction with CBS anchor Norah O’Donnell marked his first appearance on the program since he took legal action against the network over what he referred to as a ‘deceptively edited’ piece featuring Kamala Harris during the campaign peak.
The interview took a contentious turn when O’Donnell pressed Trump on his decision to pardon Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, also known as CZ. This pardon raised eyebrows due to its timing, coinciding with Binance’s significant $2 billion purchase of stablecoins from World Liberty Financial, a venture operated by Trump’s sons, Don Jr. and Eric.
O’Donnell questioned Trump on potential conflicts of interest, asking if the timing of these events presented any ethical concerns. Trump’s response was characteristically deflective. “Norah, I can only tell you this: my sons are into it,” he remarked. “I’m glad they are, because it’s probably a great industry, crypto. I think it’s good. You know, they’re running a business, they’re not in government.”
O’Donnell’s probing continued as she directly asked, “So not concerned about the appearance of corruption?” The exchange highlighted the ongoing scrutiny surrounding Trump’s business dealings and their potential overlap with political actions.
‘Norah, I can only tell you this. My sons are into it,’ Trump replied. ‘I’m glad they are, because it’s probably a great industry, crypto. I think it’s good. You know, they’re running a business, they’re not in government.’
O’Donnell responded, ‘So not concerned about the appearance of corruption?’
Trump then gave the CBS anchor a stern warning which appeared neither in the 28-minute episode that aired on TV, nor an hour-long extended version uploaded to YouTube.
‘I’d rather not have you ask the question,’ Trump fired back. ‘But I let you ask it. You just came to me and you said, “Can I ask another question?” And I said, yeah. This is the question … I don’t mind. Did I let you do it? I coulda walked away. I didn’t have to answer this question. I’m proud to answer the question. You know why? We’ve taken crypto.’
Trump threatened to walk out of his ’60 Minutes’ after facing pushback regarding his pardon of a crypto billionaire
O’Donnell demanded to know Trump’s reasoning for pardoning Changpeng Zhao
The crypto mogul pleaded guilty to violating money laundering laws and was sentenced to four months in prison
When O’Donnell tried to interrupt, Trump shot back: ‘Excuse me. We’re No. 1 in crypto in the whole world. Other people wanna be. They’re fighting like hell to be. But we’re No. 1 in crypto because I’m the president. Biden wanted to also, at the very end, you know, he totally switched his thing.’
Trump initially claimed he had no idea who Zhao was before launching into an angry tirade against O’Donnell.
‘Well, here’s the thing, I know nothing about it because I’m too busy,’ he told the anchor.
Trump’s heated exchange with O’Donnell did not make the final cut of either video, but appeared in the full transcript released by CBS.
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.’
CBS edited out the fiery exchange between O’Donnell and the president in the full video version of the interview
Trump’s 60 Minutes appearance was his first interview with the flagship CBS show since he sued the network in October 2024.
The deceptive aspect centered around two different versions of Kamala Harris’s responses to identical questions about the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Trump claimed the selective editing gave a misleading impression that favored Harris and shielded her from criticism just before the election.
The lawsuit was settled in July for $16 million, which Trump said the network paid as a result of the controversy.
Elsewhere in the interview, Trump claimed that Russia and China are carrying out secret underground ‘doomsday’ nuclear weapons tests.
The president stunned O’Donnell who stated she believed Russia had tested the missiles but not the warheads.
‘Russia’s testing and China’s testing, but they don’t talk about it,’ Trump said. ‘They don’t have reporters that are going to be writing about it, we do.’
O’Donnell attempted to push back on the claim, telling Trump: ‘That would certainly be very newsworthy. My understanding was that what Russia did was test the delivery system of the nuclear weapons, not with nuclear warheads.’
Pressed on the topic, Trump replied: ‘As powerful as they are, this is a big world. You don’t necessarily know where they’re testing.
‘They test way underground where people don’t know exactly what’s happening with the test. You feel a little bit of a vibration.’
Vladimir Putin last week claimed the Kremlin’s military had tested a nuclear-powered torpedo and a new cruise missile. Trump, previously, vowed to start testing US nuclear weapons in response.
Confusion has surrounded Trump’s order to resume testing — particularly over whether he meant the country’s first nuclear detonation since 1992.
Asked directly if he planned for the United States to detonate a nuclear weapon for the first time in more than three decades, Trump told O’Donnell: ‘I’m saying that we’re going to test nuclear weapons like other countries do, yes.’
No country other than North Korea has conducted a nuclear detonation in decades.
Russia and China have not carried out such tests since 1990 and 1996 respectively.
