Former President Donald Trump told 60 Minutes he wanted an apology from the program as a precondition for being interviewed, according to Scott Pelley.

Trump canceled his interview with the CBS show last week.

On Monday’s special edition of 60 Minutes, Scott Pelley greeted viewers by noting the long history of the show interviewing presidential candidates.

“It’s been a tradition for more than half a century that the major candidates for president sit down with 60 minutes in October,” he said. “In 1968, it was Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey. This year, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump accepted our invitation.”

Pelley then revealed how the Trump interview unraveled:

But, unfortunately, last week, Trump canceled. The Trump campaign had told us that the interview would be this past Thursday at Mar-a-Lago. They also asked us whether we would meet 78-year-old Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was grazed in an assassination attempt. We agreed. On September 9th, Trump’s Communications Director Steven Cheung sent a text that said, quote, “I’m working with our advance team to see logistically if Butler would work in addition to the sit-down.” ‘Sit-down’ meaning the interview in Florida.

Days later, Cheung called to say, quote, “The president said, ‘Yes.’” Then, a week ago, Trump backed out. The campaign offered shifting explanations. First, it complained that we would fact-check the interview. We fact-check every story. Later, Trump said he needed an apology for his interview in 2020. Trump claims correspondent Lesley Stahl said in that interview that Hunter Biden’s controversial laptop came from Russia. She never said that.

Trump has said his opponent doesn’t do interviews because she can’t handle them. He had previously declined another debate with Harris. So, tonight may have been the largest audience for the candidates between now and election day. Our questions addressed the economy, immigration, reproductive rights, and the wars in the Middle East and Europe. Both campaigns understood this special would go ahead if either candidate backed out.

Pelley concluded by saying, “And so, with that, here’s Bill Whitaker.”

Watch above via CBS.

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