The Dictatorship
White House told CBS News that Trump would sue if his interview was edited
CBS News is defending its decision to run anchor Tony Dokoupil’s entire interview with President Donald Trump, after a report that the White House threatened to sue the network if it was edited.
The New York Times reported Saturday that it had reviewed unaired footage from immediately after the interview took place.
As soon as Dokoupil wrapped up his 13-minute interview with Trump at a Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, press secretary Karoline Leavitt delivered a message to Dokoupil and his colleagues that she said came from the president: “Make sure you guys don’t cut the tape, make sure the interview is out in full,” Leavitt said, according to the Times.
Dokoupil agreed, but Leavitt doubled down.
“He said, ‘If it’s not out in full, we’ll sue your ass off,’” she said, the Times reported.
Some CBS staff on hand thought Leavitt was joking, the Times wrote, citing a person familiar with their thinking.
Leavitt, however, told the Times that “The American people deserve to watch President Trump’s full interviews, unedited, no cuts. And guess what? The interview ran in full.”
In a statement to the Times, CBS said it was always its intention to air the complete interview.
“The moment we booked this interview, we made the independent decision to air it unedited and in its entirety,” CBS News said.
Trump sued CBS in 2024 for editing a “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, in a case that legal observers said lacked merit and that most in the media said involved standard journalism practices.
The network’s parent company, Paramount, paid Trump a $16 million settlementwith part of the payment going toward Trump’s legal fees and some to fund his future presidential library. The company — which was seeking federal regulators’ approval at the time for its purchase of Skydance — did not admit fault as part of the deal.
CBS also recently came under fire after the network’s new editor-in-cheif, Bari Weiss, tabled a story in December, hours before it was to air, about allegations of abuse at a maximum-security prison in El Salvador where the Trump administration has sent migrants. Weiss said she held the story because it wasn’t ready.
The story was set to air Sunday evening, BLN reported, citing sources at CBS.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter and producer for MS NOW. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.
PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — A man was arrested Friday night at a party during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, for allegedly assaulting a Florida congressman.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost wrote on X on Saturday that he was punched in the face by a man who told Frost that President Donald Trump was going to deport him. The altercation occurred at a private party hosted by talent agency CAA at the High West Distillery, a popular venue for festival-adjacent events.
“He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off,” Frost wrote. “The individual was arrested and I am okay.”
Frost, the first Gen Z member of Congress, thanked the venue security and the Park City Police Department for their help. A Park City Police Department representative said officers arrived on the scene just after midnight.
Christian Joel Young, 28, was arrested on charges of aggravated burglary, assaulting an elected official and assault and transported to Summit County Jail, according to court records.
Young appeared to have crashed the party by jumping a fence and had a Sundance Film Festival pass that was not issued in his name, according to the police affidavit.
It was unclear if Young had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. The Associated Press left messages with the Summit County Sheriff’s office and Utah courts in an attempt to request comment from Young or a lawyer.
Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel.
The Sundance Film Festival representatives released a statement saying that they “strongly condemn” the incident, noting that while it occurred at a non-affiliated event that the behavior is “against our values of upholding a welcoming and inspiring environment for all our attendees.”
“The safety and security of our festival attendees is always our chief concern, and our thoughts are with Congressman Frost and his continued well-being,” the statement read. “We encourage anyone with additional information on this matter to contact the Park City Police Department.”
County Judge Richard Mrazik ordered Young held without bail, on the grounds that he would constitute, “a substantial danger to any other individual or to the community, or is likely to flee the jurisdiction of the court if released on bail.” Young has a prior misdemeanor conviction, according to court records.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, denounced the alleged attack and said he won’t let tensions over immigration enforcement in places like Minneapolis spill into Utah.
“Political or racially charged violence of any kind is unacceptable in Utah,” Cox said in a statement. “I’m grateful to local law enforcement for swiftly apprehending the assailant and pursuing justice for Rep. Maxwell Frost.”
Federal immigration enforcement efforts are “welcome and necessary,” he added.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote on X that he was horrified by what had happened and that “the perpetrator must be aggressively prosecuted.”
“Hate and political violence has no place in our country,” Jeffries continued.
Messages seeking comment were left for representatives for CAA.
___
Associated Press writer Hannah Schoenbaum contributed.
___
For more coverage of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/sundance-film-festival
Amanda Gorman shared a powerful poem on Instagram that she wrote in honor of Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old ICU nurse and U.S. citizen killed by a federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday.
The poem, “For Alex Jeffrey Pretti,” characterizes Pretti’s killing as a “betrayal” and an “execution.”
Gorman, earlier this month, also paid tribute to Renee Nicole Good, another U.S. citizen killed by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. In a caption accompanying another poem shared on Instagram, Gorman said she was “horrified by the ongoing violence that ICE wages upon our community. Across our country, we are witnessing discrimination and brutality on an unconscionable scale.”
Her poem says, in part: “You could believe departed to be the dawn/ When the blank night has so long stood./ But our bright-fled angels will never be fully gone,/ When they forever are so fiercely Good.”
The 27-year-old writer and activist famously recited her poem, “Blue Light News We Climb,” at Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration in 2021. Gorman has also written poems in the wake of other tragedies in the country, including “Hymn for the Hurting,” about the Robb Elementary mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas in 2022. She also performed a poem she wrote about reproductive rights and the Roe V. Wade Supreme Court case in a NowThis video in 2019.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter and producer for MS NOW. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in recordings obtained by Axiosseems to have a bone to pick with Vice President JD Vance and sometimes, President Donald Trump.
In his remarks, which lasted about 10 minutes and were reportedly made in a private meeting with donors sometime last year, Cruz portrays himself as an economically-minded, pro-interventionist who has the president’s ear.
The Texas senator is also heard criticizing former Fox News personality, Tucker Carlson, and his relationship with the vice president. “Tucker created JD. JD is Tucker’s protégé, and they are one and the same,” Cruz told donors.
Cruz, who has clashed with Carlson in the past over foreign intervention policies, bashed the administration’s appointment of Israel critic Daniel Davis to a top national intelligence position. A vocal supporter of Israel himself, Cruz called Davis “a guy who viciously hates Israel,” and credited himself with removing Davis from the job.
The Republican senator also blamed Vance and Carlson for ousting former national security adviser Mike Waltz over similar anti-interventionist sentiments related to Iran.
“[Waltz] supported being vigorous against Iran and bombing Iran — and Tucker and JD took Mike out,” Cruz said.
Cruz also said he has been trying to get the White House to accept a trade agreement with India, but claimed White House economic adviser Peter Navarro, Vance and “sometimes” Trump, are resistant.
Domestically, Cruz cautioned donors about Trump’s tariffs, which he said could result in severe economic and political consequences. Cruz is reportedly heard telling donors that he told the president “if we get to November of [2026] and people’s 401(k)s are down 30% and prices are up 10–20% at the supermarket, we’re going to go into Election Day, face a bloodbath.”
Cruz said a conversation he had with Trump about tariffs “did not go well,” and that Trump was “yelling” and “cursing.” Cruz said Trump told him: “F*** you, Ted.”
“Trump was in a bad mood,” Cruz said. “I’ve been in conversations where he was very happy. This was not one of them.”
In a statement about the recordings, a spokesperson for Cruz said he is “the president’s greatest ally in the Senate and battles every day in the trenches to advance his agenda. Those battles include fights over staffers who try to enter the administration despite disagreeing with the president and seeking to undermine his foreign policy” and that “these attempts at sowing division are pathetic and getting boring.”
In an email responding to MS NOW’s request for comment on Cruz’s reported statements, the White House did not address Cruz’s statements.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter and producer for MS NOW. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.
- No off-ramp in sight for DHS-fueled shutdown
- Susan Collins speaks with Noem about immigration enforcement
- Kristi Noem to testify before Senate Judiciary
- Rand Paul summons Trump immigration officials to testify after Minneapolis shooting
- White House backs appropriations package with DHS funding
- Capitol agenda: No shutdown deal in sight
- No off-ramp in sight for DHS-fueled shutdown
- No off-ramp in sight for DHS-fueled shutdown
- Warren calls for Kristi Noem to resign or face impeachment
- 5 Takeaways from Illinois Senate Democratic debate for Durbin’s seat
-
The Dictatorship12 months agoLuigi Mangione acknowledges public support in first official statement since arrest
-
Politics11 months agoFormer ‘Squad’ members launching ‘Bowman and Bush’ YouTube show
-
The Dictatorship5 months agoMike Johnson sums up the GOP’s arrogant position on military occupation with two words
-
Politics11 months agoBlue Light News’s Editorial Director Ryan Hutchins speaks at Blue Light News’s 2025 Governors Summit
-
The Dictatorship11 months agoPete Hegseth’s tenure at the Pentagon goes from bad to worse
-
Politics11 months agoFormer Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron launches Senate bid
-
Uncategorized1 year ago
Bob Good to step down as Freedom Caucus chair this week
-
Politics9 months agoDemocrat challenging Joni Ernst: I want to ‘tear down’ party, ‘build it back up’