Politico Playbook reports that the recent interview cancellations from Donald Trump are the result of exhaustion, according to their sources. Over the past two weeks, the former President has backed out of a number of high-profile media appearances, including 60 Minutes (who interviewed Kamala Harris on October 7th), NBC, and CNBC’s Squawk Box. When Trump backed out of an interview with The Shade Room earlier this week, one of his advisers reportedly told producers of the show that he was “exhausted and refusing [some] interviews but that could change,” according to Politico’s sources.
In response to the report, Trump’s national press secretary Karoline Leavitt has called the claims that Trump is exhausted “unequivocally false.” The Trump team has correctly pointed out that he has sit down for a number of interviews recently, although they have all been with overtly friendly media outlets and podcasts, unlike the cancelled events, which were all with more neutral or oppositional programs. According to the campaign, the 60 Minutes cancellation was due to their apparently “inappropriate and unnecessary” fact-checking policy, while those for Squawk Box and NBC were done away with due to scheduling conflicts. The idea that the recent no-shows are due to exhaustion or any other kind of unwillingness on Trump’s part is “B.S.”, in Leavitt’s words. “President Trump has never backed down from any interview. This is a man who held a CNN town hall in the middle of the Republican primary, for goodness’ sake.”
The ensuing media frenzy has elicited public responses from both presidential candidates directly. At a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan earlier today, Kamala Harris brought up the subject with reporters, telling them that “being president of the United States is one of the hardest jobs in the world. We really do need to ask the question: If he’s exhausted being on the campaign trail, is he fit to do the job?” Trump hit back, saying that Harris “doesn’t have the energy of a rabbit” and calling her a loser. “I’m not even tired. I’m really exhilarated and you know why?” The former President continued. “We’re killing her in the polls.” While the polls do not bear out a decisive Trump advantage as of this writing, the race has indeed tightened between the candidates nationally and in battleground states.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are campaigning in Michigan today and tomorrow, with both candidates expected to make stops in Detroit.
