Mary Trump, the niece of former President Donald Trump, offered her view on why he lost his temper during a recent 60 Minutes interview about a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
The 79-year-old president became visibly angry when CBS anchor Norah O’Donnell read passages from the alleged gunman Cole Tomas Allen’s manifesto, including a line in which the author reportedly justified violence by accusing someone of being a “pedophile, rapist, and traitor.”
“Well, I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would, because you’re horrible people. Horrible people,” Trump hissed at O’Donnell during the interview. He also told the correspondent she “should be ashamed” and called her “a disgrace.”
In a video posted to X, Mary Trump suggested her uncle’s anger was intensified because the interview aired on a network now controlled by an ally, David Ellison of Paramount Skydance. Channeling what she described as his inner monologue, Mary said he might have been thinking that CBS was now owned by his friends and therefore should not confront him with material that could make him look bad, even if it did not directly target him.
Trump was exuberant when David Ellison and his father, Oracle CEO and GOP megadonor Larry Ellison, took over CBS last October. / Jeff Bottari / Zuffa LLC
The White House and CBS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Context: CBS Ownership And Tensions
Trump initially praised the Ellisons after David Ellison and his father, Oracle CEO and GOP megadonor Larry Ellison, completed an $8.4 billion deal to acquire CBS last October and appointed opinion writer Bari Weiss as CBS News editor-in-chief. At the time he called Larry and David Ellison “friends” and said they would “do the right thing.”
But Trump later accused 60 Minutes of treating him more harshly since the acquisition. In December he posted on Truth Social that the program had “treated me far worse since the so-called ‘takeover’ than they have ever treated me before,” after the show interviewed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene following her resignation.
Bari Weiss, who had no experience in TV news before being tapped to lead CBS News, has steered the network into a more Trump-friendly direction. / MIKE BLAKE / REUTERS
Recent Dinner And Appearances
The episode came after a dinner last week hosted by David Ellison that appeared to celebrate the president. According to The New York Times, Bari Weiss and her wife, journalist Nellie Bowles, were seated at the president’s table, and Norah O’Donnell also attended the event. The dinner took place at the U.S. Institute of Peace, which the president has referred to as the “Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace.”
Observers say the mix of cordial interactions with new owners and critical journalism may have created an awkward dynamic for the interview. Mary Trump’s comments add a personal interpretation to a widely noted on-air exchange that has drawn attention for its tone and for the broader questions it raises about press relations and media ownership.
Note: The manifesto excerpts referenced in the interview are attributed to the alleged shooter; reporting distinguishes allegations and claims where appropriate.
