President Donald Trump Interviewed By NBC’s Lester Holt

Trump Sat Down With NBC Anchor Lester Holt For An Exclusive Interview. On May 11, President Donald Trump sat down for an exclusive interview with NBC anchor Lester Holt. During the interview, Holt pressed Trump about his decision to fire FBI Director James Comey. Trump told Holt that he was “going to fire” Comey “regardless” of what Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions recommended. [NBC News, 5/11/17]

CNN’s Anderson Cooper: The Interview “Made News On Virtually Every Controversy Facing” Trump. [CNN, Anderson Cooper 360, 5/11/17]

Right-Wing And Fringe Media Complain Holt “Interrupted” Trump As If It Was An “Interrogation”

Fox & Friends Attacked Holt For Having “Questioned” Trump, Calling The Interview An “Interrogation.” Fox News co-host Steve Doocy bemoaned that in the “two minute and 34-second clip” NBC News released, Holt “interrupted [Trump] at least nine times.” Co-host Brian Kilmeade added, “How disrespectful was that?” From the May 12 edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends:

STEVE DOOCY (CO-HOST): And we heard a lot from the president, although, you heard a lot from Lester Holt. And Brian, you were talking about this a minute ago. They released at NBC a two minute and 34-second clip. During that, Mr. Trump, the president of the United States, was interrupted at least nine times by Lester Holt. We’ve put together a little montage of that just to give you a flavor of what the NBC interview was like.

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You know what's different about that kind of interview -- and we've interviewed the president, and you only have a certain amount of time and you want to get as much as possible, but he did interrupt him a lot. Here's the thing, though. After everything the president said, Lester Holt questioned him, “Oh, you said that? Well what about this?” Which -- it seemed like an interrogation.

BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): Right, and if he had the same approach with President Obama, whose answers are longer, more drawn out, and, for many people who only get five minutes with the president, very frustrating. And do you remember when [Fox News host] Bret Baier interviewed the president, and he had to -- President Obama, and he jumped in a few times and say, “Listen, I only have a certain amount of time. I just want to follow up.” He was roundly criticized. “You got to let the president finish. You're being disrespectful.” How disrespectful was that? [Fox, Fox & Friends, 5/12/17]

Breitbart: Lester Holt “Interrupted Trump” During The “Interrogation-Like” Interview. Breitbart claimed that Holt “conduct[ed] an interrogation-like interview” in which he “interrupted Trump nine times and spoke over the president.” Breitbart also took issue with Holt for “questioning almost every statement made by Trump.” From the May 11 report:

NBCNews.com on Thursday posted a two minute and 34 second preview clip of anchor Lester Holt’s exclusive sit-down with President Donald Trump. The clip features Holt conducting an interrogation-like interview in which the NBC personality interrupted Trump nine times and spoke over the president on many of those occasions.

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In the clip, Holt can be seen questioning almost every statement made by Trump. [Breitbart, 5/11/17]

Drudge Report: “Holt Interrupts” Trump “9x In 3” Minutes.

[Drudge Report, 5/12/17]