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| - In late April 2026, a claim spread online that U.S. President Donald Trump said, "I'm not a rapist" and "I'm not a pedophile" during an interview on CBS News' "60 Minutes."
The rumor circulated on platforms such as X, Reddit and Instagram alongside a video appearing to show Trump making the above statements (screenshot, screenshot, screenshot).
Social media users correctly attributed these quotes to the president.
Trump appeared on an April 26, 2026, broadcast of "60 Minutes" to discuss a gunman's attack on the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. He denied being a rapist and a pedophile after "60 Minutes" correspondent Norah O'Donnell asked for his reaction to a sentence in the so-called "manifesto" of Cole Tomas Allen, the man accused of attempting to assassinate the president during the dinner.
(According to an FBI affidavit filed in court, Allen sent an email to family members and a former employer attempting to explain his actions, which O'Donnell said a "senior U.S. official is describing to us as a manifesto.")
"60 Minutes" uploaded the full interview on YouTube, and O'Donnell asks Trump about the "manifesto" at 19:48. A transcript is also available on CBS News' website. Here's the relevant exchange (emphasis ours):
O'DONNELL: The so-called manifesto is a stunning thing to read, Mr. President. He appears to reference a motive in it. He writes this quote, "Administration officials, they are targets." And he also wrote this: "I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes." What's your reaction to that?
TRUMP: Well, I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would because you're — you're — you're horrible people. Horrible people. Yeah, he did write that. I'm — I'm not a rapist. I didn't rape anybody.
O'DONNELL: Oh you think — do you think he was referring to you?
TRUMP: I'm not a pedophile. Excuse me. Excuse me. I'm not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person? I got associated with all the stuff that has nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated. Your friends on the other side of the plate are the ones that were involved with, let's say, [the late sex offender Jeffrey] Epstein or other things. But I said to myself, "You know, I'll do this interview and they'll probably" — 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.
O'DONNELL: Mr. President, these are the gunman's words —
TRUMP: And I was never — excuse me. Excuse me. You shouldn't be reading that on "60 Minutes." You're a disgrace. But go ahead. Let's finish the interview.
As O'Donnell alluded to, Allen did not explicitly name the president when referencing a "pedophile, rapist and traitor" in his "manifesto" as shared by the FBI.
For more on the shooting at the White House correspondents' dinner, we looked into a rumor that Fox News cut off a reporter who was about to say the attack was staged. For more on Trump's relationship with Epstein, see our collection of fact checks about the two men.
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