President Donald Trump clashed with correspondent Norah O’Donnell during a Sunday interview on 60 Minutes. The tense exchange occurred after the journalist read portions of a manifesto written by an alleged would-be assassin.
Cole Allen is a 31-year-old teacher from California. He faces serious charges after allegedly trying to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday night. Allen reportedly sent a manifesto to his family just minutes before exchanging gunfire with Secret Service agents.
The document contained several extreme allegations directed at the President. "I am a citizen of the United States of America. What my representatives do reflects on me," Allen wrote. "And I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes."
Trump fired back immediately after O’Donnell asked for his reaction to the document. "Well, I was waiting for you to read that, because I knew you would, because you’re horrible people. Horrible people," Trump said. "Yeah, he did write that. I’m not a rapist. I didn’t rape anybody."
O’Donnell pressed the President and asked if he thought the shooter was referring to him. "I’m not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person?" Trump responded.
"I got associated with all— stuff that has nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated," Trump explained. "Your friends on the other side of the plate are the ones that were involved with, let’s say Epstein or other things. But I said to myself, ‘You know, I’ll do this interview.’"
The President reprimanded the reporter for amplifying the words of a violent criminal on national television. "I read the manifesto. You know, he’s a sick person. But you should be ashamed of yourself reading that because I’m not any of those things," Trump said. "You shouldn’t be reading that on ’60 Minutes.’ You’re a disgrace. But go ahead, let’s finish the interview."
Jeffrey Epstein maintained extensive ties to celebrities, politicians, and executives even after his conviction. High-profile figures like Lex Wexner, Woody Allen, and Prince Andrew were known to be close to him. However, Epstein’s victims stated during a September 2025 panel that they had no knowledge of any wrongdoing by Trump.
Bradley Edwards, an attorney who represented some of the victims, previously described Trump as someone who actively aided his efforts. "The only thing that I can say about President Trump is that he is the only person who in 2009, when I served a lot of subpoenas against a lot of people … he is the only person that picked up the phone and said, ‘Let’s just talk, I’ll give ya as much time as you want, I’ll tell ya what you need to know,’" Edwards said.
"And [Trump] was very helpful in the information that he gave and gave no indication whatsoever that he was involved in anything untoward whatsoever," Edwards added. This defense aligns with other accounts from the prolonged legal saga. In a memoir released in October 2025, Virginia Giuffre notably did not accuse Trump of any misconduct.