Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said in a news conference Monday that Vladimir Putin got a “softer” interview on the CBS News show “60 Minutes” than he did because the Russian president is “nicer.”
CBS newsman Charlie Rose interviewed Putin for a “60 Minutes” segment that aired Sunday. “60 Minutes” host Scott Pelley interviewed Trump for a segment in the same episode.
At one point in the interview, Pelley asked Trump, “What kind of Republican are you?” when Trump said he might propose raising taxes.
Trump discussed the conversation Monday while taking questions from reporters about his tax plan.
“Well, Putin was interviewed, and I was interviewed last night. I thought his interview — I thought Charlie Rose did an excellent job, but I thought his was a softer interview,” Trump said. “Scott Pelley interviewed me. I thought Scott was terrific. I mean, it was a tough interview, but I thought he was very fair and I thought the piece was very good.”
Trump fielded a follow-up question.
“Why is he harder on me than Putin? I would say because Putin is a nicer person than I am,” Trump said.
Watch the exchange:
