US elections: Trump won't participate in interview for '60 Minutes' special

CBS News said on Tuesday that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has declined to participate in an interview with "60 Minutes" for its election special, which will go forward next Monday with Democratic opponent Kamala Harris alone.

Television's top-rated news programme regularly invites the two presidential contenders for separate interviews that air back-to-back on a show near the election. This year, it is scheduled for Monday instead of its usual Sunday time slot.

Asked for comment, the former president's campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said, "Fake news," adding that there were discussions but nothing was ever locked in.

"60 Minutes" said Trump's campaign had initially agreed to an interview before telling CBS that the former president would not appear. The network said its invitation to sit for an interview still stands, and correspondent Scott Pelley will explain Trump's absence to viewers.

Vice-President Harris will appear in a pretaped interview with Bill Whitaker.

There are currently no other scheduled opportunities for voters to compare the two candidates together. Harris and Trump previously debated on September 10. Although Harris has accepted an invitation from CNN for a second debate later this month, Trump has not accepted.

The interview special is scheduled to air on Monday instead of the usual "60 Minutes" time slot because CBS is showing the American Music Awards on Sunday.

Trump's interview with "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl prior to the 2020 election proved contentious, with the former president ending the session early and his campaign posting an unedited transcript of the session.

CBS News was hosting Tuesday's vice-presidential debate between Republican Ohio Senator JD Vance and Tim Walz, Minnesota's Democratic governor.