An edited version of the interview aired on CBS Sunday night. Trump released the full 38-minute interview on Facebook on Thursday, pre-empting the network because he said he was unhappy with Stahl's questioning.
Despite Stahl's persistent efforts to challenge him, Trump made false or misleading claims about several topics on which he has been frequently deceptive in recent months -- most notably the coronavirus pandemic.
We counted at least 16 false or misleading claims in the extended footage Trump posted, 10 of them pandemic-related. Below is the full list. We've noted the instances in which the Trump quote we are checking is from the extended footage the President posted rather than the footage televised by CBS.
Cases and testing
Trump claimed that coronavirus cases are rising simply "because we're doing so much testing."
"If we didn't do testing, cases would be way down," he added in the extended footage.
Facts First: It's not true that the US is only seeing an increase in cases because the number of tests has increased. Trump also used this refrain during previous spikes in the number of cases; it was also false then.
While the number of daily tests has indeed been rising, there is no doubt there has been an increase in the actual spread of the virus, not just that more cases are being captured. One telltale sign is that hospitalizations are also rising, setting records in some states. Also, the percentage of US tests coming back positive has also been rising since late September. And deaths have started to rise again, too, after the usual lag following the spike in cases.
"The corner"
Stahl pointed out that people can see for themselves that it's not true when he repeatedly claims we have "turned the corner" on the pandemic and that it is "disappearing." Trump responded, "That's right, we have turned the corner."
Facts First: Stahl was right, Trump was wrong. Again, US pandemic numbers -- newly confirmed cases, hospitalizations, the test positivity rate, deaths -- are all getting worse, not better. There is just no basis for his vague claim that we are rounding some sort of corner in a positive direction.
Trump's comments about Fauci
Stahl said, "You called Dr. Fauci and other health officials idiots." Trump responded, "Where did I call him an idiot?"
Facts First: This was misleading at best. On a phone call with campaign staff on Monday, with reporters from CNN and other outlets listening in, Trump said, "People are tired of hearing Fauci and these idiots, all these idiots who got it wrong."
Trump could perhaps make an argument that he was distinguishing Dr. Anthony Fauci from the unnamed "these idiots" he was referring to, but that's a stretch. (And Trump went on to tell Stahl that Fauci has "been wrong a lot," which is how he was defining "idiots" in the phone call.)
Trump rallies and masks
Stahl told Trump that she couldn't believe that, after so many people who attended his White House event for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett in September got sick with the coronavirus, Trump still
