Trump Attacks CBS Correspondent and ’60 Minutes’ After Reading Shooter’s Manifesto Excerpts

U.S. President Donald Trump launched a sharp attack on CBS News correspondent Norah O’Donnell and the program 60 Minutes during a television interview on Sunday evening, after she read excerpts from the manifesto attributed to the suspect in a shooting incident linked to the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

The interview came shortly after U.S. authorities identified the suspect as Cole Allen, 31, from Torrance, California. Investigations revealed that he had prepared a statement outlining his motives and posted anti-Trump and anti-Christian rhetoric on his social media accounts.

During the interview, O’Donnell read portions of the manifesto that included references to “rapist” and “pedophile,” and asked Trump for his response to those allegations.

Trump replied, “You are bad people,” saying he had expected her to read those passages. He added: “I knew you were going to read that because you are terrible people… I am not a rapist and I have never assaulted anyone.” When the correspondent asked if the attacker was referring to him personally, Trump responded:

“I am not a pedophile. Why are you reading this from a sick person? I have been completely exonerated.”

He also accused the media and his political opponents of trying to link him to issues that have nothing to do with him, pointing out that “other people” — in an indirect reference to his rivals — were the ones associated with the Jeffrey Epstein case.