Karoline Leavitt Warned CBS Trump Would ‘Sue Your Ass Off’ if Interview Was Edited

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt warned CBS News that Donald Trump would take legal action if a recent interview was not aired in full, according to an audio recording obtained by The New York Times.

The exchange occurred moments after President Trump completed a 13-minute interview Tuesday with Tony Dokoupil for CBS Evening News while in Michigan.

According to the report, Leavitt approached the CBS team immediately following the taping to relay the president’s demand that the segment run unedited, as reported by The New York Post.

“He said, ‘Make sure you guys don’t cut the tape, make sure the interview is out in full,’” Leavitt told Dokoupil and his colleagues, according to the recording.

Leavitt then added: “He said, ‘If it’s not out in full, we’ll sue your ass off.’”

CBS staffers who witnessed the exchange initially believed Leavitt was joking, The Times reported. Audio captured during the moment includes Kim Harvey, executive producer of CBS Evening News, responding: “Oh, great, OK!”

Dokoupil attempted to lighten the situation, telling Leavitt, “He always says that!” According to the report, Leavitt did not laugh in response.

Karoline Leavitt delivers a message to CBS from President Trump: “He said, ‘If it’s not out in full, we’ll sue your ass off’.”

pic.twitter.com/QqQm4A4xiS

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 17, 2026

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During the interview itself, President Trump took a personal swipe at Dokoupil, telling the newly appointed anchor that he “wouldn’t have a job right now” if former Vice President Kamala Harris had won the 2024 election.

Dokoupil pushed back, stating “for the record” that he believed he would still be employed regardless of the election’s outcome, prompting Trump to respond that the anchor would be earning “a lesser salary.”

CBS News later told The Post that the network had already decided to air the interview in full before it was recorded and that Leavitt’s comments did not influence editorial decisions.

“The moment we booked this interview, we made the independent decision to air it unedited and in its entirety,” CBS News said in a statement, noting that the interview ran in full on CBS Evening News that night.

Leavitt confirmed the account to The New York Times, saying, “The American people deserve to watch President Trump’s full interviews, unedited, no cuts. And guess what? The interview ran in full.”

The episode comes against the backdrop of a prior legal dispute between Trump and the network. In 2024, Trump sued CBS over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Harris, accusing the network of deceptive editing.

CBS News’ then-parent company, Paramount, ultimately agreed to a $16 million settlement to resolve the lawsuit.

Shortly after that settlement, Paramount moved forward with a long-planned sale of the company to Skydance Media, led by CEO David Ellison.

The transaction required regulatory approval from the Trump administration, fueling internal concerns at CBS News about potential corporate pressure surrounding coverage of the president.

In October, Ellison appointed Bari Weiss as editor in chief of CBS News, marking the first time the division had a centralized editorial leader.

Weiss, a former New York Times opinion editor and founder of The Free Press, assumed the role with a mandate to reshape newsroom culture and rebuild public trust.

Her appointment, and subsequent involvement in sensitive editorial decisions, has been cited by critics as evidence that the settlement continues to influence coverage decisions.

CBS News staffers have privately described uncertainty and caution surrounding reporting on Trump, while Ellison has defended the changes as necessary for the network’s future.

The Post reported it sought comment from CBS News and the White House.

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