White House press secretary warned CBS of lawsuit if Trump interview was edited

White Home Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt warned CBS Night Information host Tony Dokoupil that his interview this week with President Donald Trump needed to air in full or the community would face one other lawsuit.

The New York Occasions obtained audio from the moments that adopted Trump’s interview with Dokoupil in Michigan on Tuesday, through which Leavitt warned on behalf of the president to not lower the tape.

“He mentioned, ‘Be sure you guys do not lower the tape, make sure that the interview airs in full,’” Leavitt mentioned, in line with the audio.

Dokoupil responded, in line with the recording obtained by The Occasions: “Sure, we do, sure.”

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt solutions questions throughout a White Home briefing on December 11, 2025. (Alex Wong/Getty Pictures)

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“He mentioned, ‘If it isn’t totally disclosed, we are going to cost you,’” Leavitt continued, in line with the outlet.

The Occasions reported that some CBS workers current thought the feedback have been meant as a joke.

Dokoupil responded to Leavitt with humor, saying, “He at all times says that!”

Kim Harvey, government producer of “CBS Night Information,” was heard saying, “Oh, nice, okay!”

Tony Dokoupil interviews President Donald Trump on January 13, 2026. (Michael Tessier/CBS Information through Getty Pictures)

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“On the time of reserving this interview, we made the unbiased resolution to air it unedited and in its entirety,” a CBS Information spokesperson mentioned in a press release concerning the report. The interview has been published that night fully.

The White Home didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. Leavitt instructed the Occasions: “The American individuals deserve to observe President Trump’s full interviews, unedited, with out cuts. And guess what? The interview was full.”

Trump efficiently sued CBS Information over a “60 Minutes” interview the community did with former Vice President Kamala Harris forward of the 2024 presidential election. CBS’s enhancing of the interview and the best way the footage aired on two completely different nights have been on the middle of the lawsuit, with Trump claiming it was election interference.

CBS settled the lawsuit with Trump forward of dad or mum firm Paramount’s merger with Skydance Media final yr.

The president teased Dokoupil in the course of the interview on Tuesday, suggesting he wouldn’t have a job if Harris had gained, after the CBS host pressed Trump on why People weren’t feeling the advantages of the financial system below his administration.

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“Tony, we now have the most popular nation on the earth. And a yr and a half in the past, our nation was lifeless. We had a lifeless nation,” Trump instructed Dokoupil. “You would not have a job now. If [Kamala Harris] got here in, you in all probability would not have a job proper now.

“Your boss, who’s a fantastic man, may be bankrupt, okay?” Trump mentioned. “Let me simply let you know: You would not have this job. You would not have this job – particularly it doesn’t matter what they pay you. Our nation is skyrocketing proper now. We now have the preferred nation on the earth. In the event that they got here in, we might be Venezuela on steroids.”

Trump was referring to David Ellison, the brand new proprietor of CBS dad or mum firm Paramount and the son of billionaire Trump ally Larry Ellison.

President Donald Trump gestures as he walks off Marine One after arriving on the South Garden of the White Home, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Alex Brandon/AP Picture)

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Dokoupil reprimanded the president as the 2 concluded the interview.

“For the file, I believe I might have this job even when the opposite guys gained,” Dokoupil instructed Trump. The president then responded, “Sure, however at a decrease wage.”

Joseph Wulfsohn of Fox Information contributed to this report.