January 20, 2026
The exchange futher underscores President Trump’s ongoing pressure on media outlets for their reporting practices.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned CBS News that the network could face legal action if it failed to broadcast an interview with President Donald Trump in full, according to an audio recording. The exchange took place ahead of an interview conducted earlier this week and highlights President Trump’s continued willingness to threaten litigation against news organizations.
In the recording, Leavitt relayed a direct message from the president to newly appointed CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil. “He said, ‘Make sure you guys don’t cut the tape. Make sure the interview is out in full,’” Leavitt told Dokoupil. She then added, quoting Trump more bluntly: “‘If it’s not out in full, we’ll sue your a** off.’”
Dokoupil responded, saying, “He always says that!” The New York Times first reported the audio exchange. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
CBS News ultimately aired the interview in its entirety, a decision the network said had already been made prior to the conversation.
“The moment we booked this interview, we made the independent decision to air it unedited and in its entirety,” a CBS spokeswoman said in a statement. That message was reiterated again on Jan. 17, when CBS News confirmed the interview had run without edits, as originally planned.
According to a person familiar with the situation, some CBS staffers interpreted Leavitt’s comments as joking rather than a serious legal threat. Leavitt, however, defended her position when reached for comment.
“The American people deserve to watch President Trump’s full interviews, unedited, no cuts,” she said. “And guess what? The interview ran in full.”
Despite the levity some in the room perceived, Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that legal threats against the press are not merely rhetorical. Prior to the 2024 election, Trump sued CBS News over its editing of a 60 Minutes interview with then–Vice President Kamala Harris.
His lawsuit alleged the edits were intended to “confuse, deceive, and mislead the public” and sway the election. CBS countered that the segment was edited for time, a standard industry practice. The case was settled out of court in July for $16 million.
The dispute occurred during a period of major corporate change for CBS News. In the summer, Paramount — CBS’s parent company — was acquired by Skydance. Skydance CEO David Ellison, the son of Trump ally and Oracle co-founder, Larry Ellison, later facilitated the purchase of the conservative outlet The Free Press and installed its founder, Bari Weiss, as editor-in-chief of CBS News.
Weiss’s tenure has been marked by layoffs and internal concern about editorial direction. In December, she faced backlash from 60 Minutes staff after shelving a segment on El Salvador’s CECOT prison because there was no on-camera interview with the administration.
Dokoupil, who assumed the anchor role earlier this month, has acknowledged declining public confidence in the media, saying on air, “People do not trust us like they used to.”
Trump, for his part, has continued to publicly criticize CBS News. In a December post on Truth Social, he wrote, “THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP, who just paid me millions of Dollars for FAKE REPORTING about your favorite President, ME!” adding, “Since they bought it, 60 Minutes has actually gotten WORSE!”
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