Trump says Lesley Stahl had 'fire coming out of her eyes' as he complains about 'tough' 60 Minutes interview

The president walked out of Sunday evening’s interview after 38 minutes and on Tuesday said it was because he was being unfairly attacked

Donald Trump has said that 60 Minutes host Lesley Stahl had “fire coming out of her eyes” as she spoke to him for a televised interview, which he walked out of after only 38 minutes.

The president told a rally in Lansing, Michigan on Tuesday that he felt from the start he was being treated unfairly, and that Joe Biden was being asked softer questions.

“Wasn’t that terrible, the difference? All this anger, craziness, right?” he said. 

"Fire coming out of her eyes.

“I look. She sits down, she said: ‘are you prepared for tough questions?’”

Mr Trump walked out of the interview, leaving a bemused Stahl looking on as he brushed past her.

“I think we have enough of an interview here. Okay? That's enough,” he said, as he got up to leave.

“Let's go. Let's go. Thanks. I'll see you in a little while. Thanks.”

Stahl responds: “I've got a lot of questions I didn't ask.”

She asked Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, if he was coming  back, and Ms McEnany said that she had already had enough time.

“The president's given you a lot of time,” said Ms McEnany.

Mr Trump’s refusal to submit to questioning has been seized on by his critics as a sign of weakness, and an inability to defend his ideas.

On Sunday Barack Obama, speaking at a drive-in rally in Miami, laughed at the fiasco.

“It’s a good idea of you’re running for re-election to say, here’s what I want to accomplish. What did Trump say? He got mad and walked out of the interview. The questions were too tough. Too tough?” Mr Obama said.

“Miami, listen, if he can’t answer a question like, what would you like to do in your second term, then it’s our job to make sure he doesn’t get a second term.”

And stressing that Mr Biden, his former vice president for eight years, is genuinely tough while Mr Trump only plays tough, he said: “If you have to walk out of a 60 Minutes interview, you’re not going to stand up to a dictator."

"Joe Biden is tough, something you can’t really say about this president. He likes to act tough and talk tough – he thinks scowling and being mean is tough and being rude is tough. But when 60 Minutes and Lesley Stahl are too tough for you, you ain’t all that tough.

“If you’ve got to walk out of a 60 Minutes interview, then you’re never going to stand. up to a dictator. If you’re spending all your time complaining about how mean reporters are to you, you’re not going to stand up to Putin.”