President Donald Trump spoke to CBSâ Lesley Stahl about everything from his relationship with North Koreaâs Kim Jong Un to how the White House is reacting to the missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The interview, which included some moments of tension between Stahl and Trump (âIâm presidentâand youâre not,â he said to her at one point), was taped last Thursday in the White House. As Stahl mentioned during the segment, âitâs a presidency like no other.â
Here are six of the wildest moments from the interview, which aired Sunday night.
1. He denied mocking Christine Blasey Ford at one of his rallies: âI didnât really make fun of her.â
Earlier this month, Trump openly mocked Christine Blasey Fordâs Senate testimony and the broader #MeToo movement against sexual assault during his rally in Southaven, Mississippi.
Blasey, 51, gave an emotional testimony in September, recalling the details of the night she claims now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh drunkenly held her down and tried to forcibly remove her clothes at a gathering in the 1980s. She is one of three women who have publicly accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.
âHad I not made that speech, we would not have won,â Trump said when Stahl said he mimicked Ford during the rally. âI was just saying she didnât seem to know anything.â
âI didnât really make fun of her,â he added, saying he believes that Ford was âtreated with great respectâ in the aftermath of the hearing.
Later, when pressed more by Stahl about whether he believes he treated Ford with respect, Trump said: âWâyou know what? Iâm not gonna get into it because we won. It doesnât matter. We won.â
2. Trump refused to say humans were causing climate change and said scientists had a âpolitical agenda.â
Stahl specifically asked the president if he still believed climate change was a hoax (he said no), but Trump refused to agree with a majority of scientists who say humans are directly causing the phenomenon.
âI think somethingâs happening. Somethingâs changing and itâll change back again. I donât think itâs a hoax,â he said. âI donât know that itâs manmade. I will say this. I donât wanna give trillions and trillions of dollars. I donât wanna lose millions and millions of jobs. I donât wanna be put at a disadvantage.â
The presidentâs comments come on the heels of the devastating Hurricane Michael and a new report from the United Nationsâ climate change body that predicted dire consequences unless the planet dramatically scaled back greenhouse emissions.
Trump, firing back at Stahlâs question if he had listened to his own climate researchers, said that scientists were politically motivated.
âYouâd have to show me the scientists because they have a very big political agenda,â he said.
3. Trump has âtrustâ in Kim Jong Un.
Trump said he gets along well with North Koreaâs Kim Jong Un.
âI trust him,â Trump said. âThat doesnât mean I canât be proven wrong.â
Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Singapore in June. After the summit, the White House said the North had made firm pledges to rid itself of its nuclear weapons. The joint statement released after the event, however, was vague at best and provided no clear pathway for Kim to do so.
The president has previously tweeted that he was âconfidentâ the North Korean leader would âhonor the contract we signed &, even more importantly, our handshake,â referring to North Koreaâs process of denuclearization.
Stahl told Trump: âWell, remember what Reagan said. âTrust, but verify.ââ
âSure. I know. Itâsâ itâs very true. âTrump replied, âbut the fact is, I do trust him. But weâll see what happens.â
4. Trump said there could potentially be a âsevere punishmentâ for Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of Khashoggiâs disappearance
Although Trump often calls the media the âenemy of the people,â he didnât shy away from noting the severity of the disappearance and possible death of journalist and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi.
The Saudi reporter and columnist for The Washington Post has not been seen since entering the Saudi consulate in Turkey earlier this month. He was a known critic of Saudi policies, and Turkish authorities claim he was killed inside the building.
âThereâs a lot at stake, thereâs a lot at stake and maybe especially so because this man was a reporter,â Trump said. âWeâre going to get to the bottom of it, and there will be severe punishment.â
Trump said ânobody knows yetâ if Khashoggi was murdered on the instruction of Saudi authorities, adding that the incident was âbeing investigatedâ and âbeing looked at very, very strongly.â
âAs of this moment, they deny it, and they deny it vehemently,â he said. âCould it be them? Yes.â
5. A potential Mattis departure.
Trump said Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis is âsort of a Democratâ who could be leaving his post relatively soon.
Mattis, a former Marine Corps general, hasnât told Trump he plans to leave the administration. However, Trump said it âcould be that he is.â
âI have a very good relationship with him,â Trump said. âI think heâs sort of a Democrat if you want to know the truth. But Gen. Mattis is a good guy. We get along very well. He may leave. I mean, at some point, everybody leaves. People leave. Thatâs Washington.â
6. He refused to pledge that he would not shut down special counsel Robert Muellerâs probe.
Stahl pressed Trump repeatedly about his stance on the ongoing investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into the last presidential election, asking if he would âpledgeâ not to shut it down. Trump refused several times to answer.
âI donât pledge anything,â he said. âBut I will tell you, I have no intention of doing that. I think itâs a very unfair investigation because there was no collusion of any kind.â
When the host asked once more, Trump again fired back, saying: âThere is no collusion. I donât wanna pledge. Why should I pledge to you? If I pledge, Iâll pledge. I donât have to pledge to you.â
He later cast doubt on any claims that he had colluded with Russia during the election, calling the idea âridiculous.â
32 people have been indicted in Muellerâs probe so far, including several high-profile members of the Trump campaign.
Read the full transcript of the interview here.
HuffPostâs Lee Moran and Hayley Miller contributed to this report.