Stahl comes under criticism for being too soft with questions to Greene

CBS’s “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl is coming under some criticism for how she handled an interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), which aired over the weekend.

Stahl, a longtime broadcast news journalist working for “60 Minutes,” sat with Greene, a firebrand conservative House member, for an extensive interview during which Stahl pressed the lawmaker about her controversial statements about Democrats and support for former President Trump.

In one exchange, after Greene claimed Democrats are pedophiles, Stahl shot back: “They are not pedophiles … Why would you say that?”

“Democrats support — even Joe Biden the president himself — supports children being sexualized, having transgender surgeries,” Greene said, eliciting an eye roll from Stahl.

But the veteran corespondent’s line of questioning was not strong enough for some of Greene’s staunchest critics — primarily on the political left — of whom some argued that even putting Greene on “60 Minutes” was the wrong decision.

“I am disgusted with and ashamed of Leslie Stahl+ 60 Minutes for platforming a fascist and failing at basic journalism. Gross. Retire. Find someone fit for the moment,” Dr. Sarah Parack, who was featured in a recent segment on the Sunday evening news program, wrote on Twitter.

“Leslie Stahl’s interview isn’t a one-off atrocity. It’s just one symptom of the media turning a blind eye to fascism,” wrote Mary Trump, one of the former president’s cousins who has in recent months emerged as a leading anti-Trump pundit on cable news.

“You’re legitimizing a ghoul who harasses victims of school shootings,” actor Bradley Whitford, best known for portraying White House Deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman on the “West Wing,” wrote in a social media post of his own. “Not great for a generation traumatized by gun violence. Shame on you.”

Others voiced support for Stahl and argued Greene’s influence and power in Republican politics is growing and journalists like Stahl have a duty to ask her tough questions.

“This is a hot take but I’m glad 60 minutes gave Marjorie Taylor Greene airtime,” the gun control activist David Hogg, a survivor of the Parkland school shooting who has since emerged as a leading gun control activist and was infamously confronted by Greene, wrote on Twitter. “It’s important to interview one of the main leaders of the Republican Party so the American people know everything and I mean everything they support. Including denying school shootings.”

During a discussion about the “60 Minutes” interview on Monday’s edition of “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, pundit Mike Barnicle said the episode highlights “our media obsession” with controversial figures like Greene.

“But still the bottom line is I want that information out there and available to the public,” Barnicle said. “So they can listen to it … I think some people are going to listen to it and say ‘oh yeah she’s great.’ But I think a large majority of people are going to listen to what she has to say and say she’s mentally ill and deeply dangerous.”