New York: An interview by CBS’s John Dickerson with President Donald Trump ended abruptly after a question on his wiretapping claims against predecessor Barack Obama.
The "CBS This Morning" telecast from the East Room was in the works since the day after the election.
"You can take it any way you want," Trump said. He said "I have my own opinions. You can have your own opinions."
Dickerson said that "I want to know your opinions. You're the president of the United States."
Dickerson, appearing on "CBS This Morning" on Monday, said that "it was pretty clear that I was to escort myself out or I would be moved along."
Ryan Kadro, executive producer of "CBS This Morning," said he wasn't worried that the testy ending of the Trump interview, which was recorded on Saturday, would endanger the morning show's Monday broadcast. Dickerson later traveled on Air Force One and talked to Trump as he was going to a rally.
The CBS newscast has been steadily establishing itself since the anchor team of Charlie Rose, Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell was appointed five years ago. It was a time of day that CBS has long struggled in competition with ABC's "Good Morning America" and NBC's "Today" show.
CBS has been inching closer to second-place NBC in the ratings. "Today" averages 4.42 million viewers a day so far this season, with "CBS This Morning" at 3.69 million. At the same point five years ago, "Today" had 5.38 million viewers and CBS had 2.52 million, according to the Nielsen company.
The network would likely never have the type of access it received Monday when it was such an also-ran a few years ago, Kadro said.
"There's a credibility that our broadcast has with the outside world and internally that is really great to see pay off like this," he said.
The show's newsy focus, the chemistry of its anchor team and willingness to stretch interviews a little longer than its rivals has helped "CBS This Morning" grow, he said.
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