White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt warned CBS News that President Donald Trump would "sue your ass off" if his 13-minute interview with "CBS Evening News" anchor Tony Dokoupil was not aired in full and unedited, according to an audio recording obtained by The New York Times.
The exchange occurred immediately after the interview was taped on January 13, 2026, at a Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan. Leavitt approached Dokoupil and executive producer Kim Harvey to relay Trump's message: "Make sure you guys don’t cut the tape, make sure the interview is out in full."
When Dokoupil responded affirmatively ("Yeah, we’re doing it, yeah"), Leavitt added the threat of legal action.
CBS News aired the complete 13-minute interview that evening without edits, stating it had planned to do so independently from the start. A network spokesperson said: "The moment we booked this interview we made the independent decision to air it unedited and in its entirety."
Some CBS staff present interpreted her tone as possibly lighthearted, with Dokoupil joking, "He always says that!" in reference to Trump's past lawsuit threats, though Leavitt did not laugh and the delivery was described as even and stern.
The incident revives tensions from Trump's 2024 lawsuit against CBS over alleged deceptive editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, which settled for $16 million under the network's then-parent company (now Paramount Skydance). No lawsuit has been filed in this case, and the story has sparked debate over media pressure, editorial independence, and the administration's push against perceived selective editing in coverage.