Trump backs out of CNBC interview, his second about-face with mainstream press this month

Donald Trump has backed out of an interview with CNBC, marking the second time this month the former president has canceled on a mainstream press interview.

Joe Kernen, the “Squawk Box” co-anchor, broke the news of the unannounced interview’s cancellation during Tuesday morning’s broadcast.

“Well, Trump canceled, and he was going to come on,” he said.

Kernen added that the network had also offered to sit down with Vice President Kamala Harris, but said “she’s not coming on.” Kernen joked that, with Trump’s decision, “she could come on and we could say we offered it to Trump camp, but they’re not.”

A Trump campaign official told CNN that the planned CNBC interview was pulled due to a scheduling conflict, noting the former president intends to be in Michigan on Friday.

A CNBC spokesperson did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment.

Trump’s decision to back out of the appearance comes less than two weeks after he canceled an interview on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” with Scott Pelley.

The former president has instead opted to appear almost exclusively in friendly territory, sticking to appearances across conservative outlets, including Fox News, Newsmax, “The Ramsey Show” and Real America’s Voice. Trump is also expected to take part in town halls this week with Fox News and Univision.

“Trump bailed on the debate because Kamala Harris would hold him accountable (again),” Charles Kretchmer Lutvak, a Harris campaign spokesperson, said via X on Tuesday. “Trump bailed on 60 Minutes because he was afraid to answer real questions.”

“Now, Trump bailed on Joe Kernan [sic] because he can’t even talk to his best friend on TV,” Lutvak wrote.

With no additional debates scheduled ahead of November’s election, Trump and Harris have focused on reaching undecided voters via nontraditional platforms, including podcasts.

Harris has also agreed to her first-ever interview on Fox News, sitting down with anchor Bret Baier for an interview scheduled to air Wednesday evening.