MAGA diehards are up in arms after a CBS interviewer dared to call Donald Trump “Mr. Trump,” rather than “President Trump” in his latest sit-down.
Trump spoke to 60 Minutes reporter Norah O’Donnell for an interview that aired Sunday, discussing his retribution campaign against political opponents, the deployment of the military in U.S. cities, and his recent eyebrow-raising pardon.
Yet, MAGA corners of the internet are in meltdown mode over O’Donnell’s use of “Mr. Trump” in the opening intro, accusing the 51-year-old veteran journalist of purposefully slighting the president.
“Norah O’Donnell should be ashamed of herself for calling President Trump, Mr. Trump. It was passive aggressive,” one X user wrote.
“WOW: 60 Minutes Norah O’Donnell just called President Trump ‘Mr Trump’ on the opening intro. That’s not how you respect a President! 😡” a second person commented.
Another X user wrote, “I hate when they call him, ‘Mr. Trump!’ He is the PRESIDENT. 60 Minutes doesn’t deserve to interview him – let’s see how they spin this.”
Others demanded that Bari Weiss, the right-leaning pundit appointed as CBS News’ new editor-in-chief, fast-track a full MAGA makeover of the network.
“Barry Weiss has a lot of heavy lifting at CBS. More biased loaded questions from Norah O’Donnell and no respect for the office. It’s President Trump not Mr. Trump,” a user wrote.
Trump praised Weiss, 41, as “a great, new leader” during the interview.
While O’Donnell referred to the 79-year-old commander-in-chief as “Mr. Trump” in the separately recorded opening intro, it came only after she had already said “President Trump.”
Meanwhile, the full transcript shows she addressed him only as “Mr. President” during the actual sit-down, which the White House hailed as a “powerhouse interview” in a Monday release.
While many news organizations skip the “Mr.” honorific entirely, others, such as CBS News and The New York Times, use the honorific on second reference, following an initial “President Trump.”
“No disrespect is intended, just the opposite,” former CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller explained in 2019, after the network faced similar backlash for using “Mr. Trump.” “It is CBS News practice to refer to the president and former presidents on second reference with the honorific ‘Mister.’ Everyone else in the political universe is referred to only by their last names.”
It was Trump’s first appearance on the program since he successfully sued CBS for $16 million over a 2024 election interview with Kamala Harris. He had claimed that CBS deceptively edited its sit-down with the then-presidential candidate with the goal of giving her an edge.
The settlement came at the same time Paramount was seeking the Trump administration’s approval on a lucrative merger with fellow media giant Skydance.
The merger was subsequently approved, making David Ellison—son of Trump-friendly billionaire Larry Ellison—chairman and CEO of the new Paramount Skydance media conglomerate that now owns CBS.
Trump praised the merger during the 60 Minutes interview, calling it “the greatest thing that’s happened in a long time to a free and open and good press.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to CBS for comment.
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