Trump reportedly canceled all TV appearances Tuesday because he didn't like the way he looked

Trump cancelled all TV appearances because he did not like the way he looked.
(Image credit: GEOFF ROBINS/AFP/Getty Images)

Donald Trump canceled a slew of TV appearances on Tuesday morning, reportedly because he was concerned about the way he looked. Trump instead insisted on doing phone interviews — a somewhat controversial alternative that he popularized last year, CNN reports.

Trump apparently told NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox News, and MSNBC that his scheduled appearances were going to be no-gos due to "technical issues." Earlier, during a 6 a.m. interview for a CBS affiliate in Michigan that was beamed via satellite from Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, there were no visible issues. However, at the time Trump had complained of "a little double sound coming out of here, so it's a little hard to talk."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

CBS This Morning declined to settle for a Trump phone-in. Some in the business argue that networks should insist on on-camera interviews because it allows audiences to see how a candidate handles a question and rules out the possibility of someone helping the candidate with their answers.

MSNBC Morning Joe co-hosts offered another interpretation. "Donald Trump has proved himself to be the most accessible candidate, like it or not," Mika Brzezinski said. "But don't blame us if the other candidates are not as accessible."

Explore More
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.