Trump nearly stormed off '60 Minutes' interview over one pointed question

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: The '60 Minutes' sit-down between President Donald Trump and CBS journalist Norah O’Donnell almost blew up due to one pointed question. 

The two sat down on Sunday, November 2, to chat about trade talks with China, immigration enforcement, and the government shutdown. However, it was one question about a crypto billionaire that made Trump’s patience go up in smoke.

According to the full transcript, Trump nearly walked off the set when O’Donnell brought up his pardon of Changpeng Zhao (better known as “CZ”), the crypto tycoon behind Binance.

The heated exchange was quietly cut from the broadcast version and even from the supposed “full-length” video CBS uploaded to YouTube. It was later revealed that the on-air version had been trimmed down. Meanwhile, the White House’s RapidResponse47 X account released what it claimed was the “FULL” unedited version, "without the network’s edits and cuts.”

On the other hand, CBS added an editor’s note to the YouTube upload saying the footage had been “condensed for clarity.”

Trump grilled over CZ pardon

CZ pleaded guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering through Binance. He was sentenced to four months behind bars and stepped down as CEO. However, Trump swooped in with a presidential pardon that set off alarm bells across Washington.

O’Donnell didn’t waste any time bringing it up. She told Trump that his family had become “more associated with cryptocurrency than real estate,” pointing out that he and his sons, Don Jr and Eric Trump, had teamed up with the Witkoff family to launch World Liberty Financial, a venture reportedly raking in millions.

"This is a question about pardons. The Trump family is now perhaps more associated with cryptocurrency than real estate. You and your son-- your sons, Don Jr. and Eric, have formed World Liberty Financial with the Witkoff family, helping to make your family millions of dollars. It's in that context that I do wanna ask you about crypto's richest man, a billionaire known as C.Z. He pled guilty in 2023 to violating anti-money laundering laws."

When she asked him directly why he pardoned Zhao, Trump first claimed he had “no idea” who the man was. He then remarked, "I know he got a four-month sentence or something like that, and I heard it was a Biden witch hunt.”

"But this man was treated really badly by the Biden administration. And he was given a jail term. He's highly respected. He's a very successful guy. They sent him to jail and they really set him up. That's my opinion. I was told about it,” Trump said.

Trump explained that he wrestled with the optics but decided he had to “do the right thing.”

“I said, 'Eh, it may look bad if I do it. I have to do the right thing.' I don't know the man at all. I don't think I ever met him. Maybe I did. Or, you know, somebody shook my hand or something. But I don't think I ever met him. I have no idea who he is. I was told that he was a victim, just like I was and just like many other people, of a vicious, horrible group of people in the Biden administration,” he said.

The question that set Trump off

When the interview aired, CBS included a milder segment in which O’Donnell asked about the “appearance of pay-for-play.”

“How do you address the appearance of pay-for-play?” she asked, to which Trump responded, “Well, here’s the thing, I know nothing about…”

O’Donnell interjected, asking if he was “concerned about the appearance of corruption” in pardoning CZ, given his family’s ties to crypto.

"So not concerned about the appearance of corruption with this?" she asked. That’s when Trump’s patience hit its breaking point, per the full transcript.

“I can’t say,” he snapped. “I’m not concerned. I’d rather not have you ask the question. But I let you ask it. You just came to me and said, ‘Can I ask another question?’ and I said yeah. This is the question—”

When O’Donnell tried to interrupt again, Trump cut her off saying he didn’t have to answer at all. "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," he continued.

O’Donnell tried to steer the conversation back, but Trump wasn't having it. “Excuse me,” he said. “We’re number one in crypto in the whole world. Other people wanna be. They’re fighting like hell to be. But we’re number one in crypto because I’m the president. Biden wanted to also, at the very end, you know, he totally switched his thing.”

According to the transcript, Trump looked ready to bolt. However, the heated back-and-forth never aired and was replaced instead by a calm exchange that made the interview look far tamer than it really was. CBS also inserted a voiceover noting that World Liberty Financial had denied any involvement in the pardon.

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