Interviewing Leaders: BBC Trump Interview Shows How It's Done

Forbes

31-07-2025

On 13 July 2024, Donald Trump was speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania when a bullet grazed his ear. As the gunman continued to fire, killing one man, the BBC's Chief North America Correspondent reported live. He then interviewed the first eyewitness who had seen the gunman on the roof beforehand. The scoop went viral. But earlier this month, O'Donoghue landed another scoop in a very personal interview with U.S. leader Donald Trump.
To mark the first anniversary of the shooting, O'Donoghue had requested an interview. But it hadn't come through and he thought it wasn't happening so the reporter went home late and was dozing when the phone rang.
In his haste, he accidentally cut the President off, but he rang back. Trump often rings journalists at home, according to O'Donoghue. Apparently he thinks he is the best communicator in his administration. says O'Donoghue. On this occasion, he may be right.
The BBC interview provides a rare glimpse of a reflective Trump, a more human figure than we usually see. 'I think he's open, even a bit vulnerable while talking about the assassination attempt,' said O'Donoghue.
As with all the very best interviews, this is a conversation. It's not sycophantic, but it is respectful and both sides are listening to each other. I have listened to O'Donoghue on the radio for years, but only recently realised he cannot see. Perhaps this is partly why he is such a good listener.
The corporation has edited out some of Trump's tangential observations, but he will have reached a constituency of voters who may not usually listen to him. At the same time, O'Donoghue's simple but thoughtful questions do exactly what they are meant to and draw the president out.
It's a masterclass in how to do an interview, whichever side of the mike you're on. Here are the golden rules.
Know Your Subject
This could also be called Think how you're going to do it.
O'Donoghue had made some notes but couldn't find them in time. Speaking on Newscast O'Donoghue said, 'But they were in my head, and I knew that just trying to sit back a bit and to place careful… and respectful questions, that I was actually there to try to elicit …some thinking, to see the process of thinking.'
It works. The reporter isn't looking down at a long list of questions and yanking the conversation back to questions which don't flow naturally. He can do it because he is on top of his subject.
Trump is also well-prepared, clearly well-informed about the BBC's coverage of the assassination attempt from his comments. It helps he knows his interviewer and respects him. Respect begets respect, which is important especially if you're a politician.
In his 2020 CNN interview with Trump, Jonathan Swan used basic follow-up questions (how, what, who) to challenge a number of sweeping and inaccurate statements. For instance, Trump said, 'I think it's [coronavirus] under control. It's under control as much as you can control it.' Swan questioned, 'How? 1,000 Americans are dying a day.'
The BBC interview is much more personal, aimed at finding out as much as possible what Trump is thinking. But the same principle applies. O'Donoghue kept his questions short and simple, and just asked the president what he felt about things. Short questions also help interviewees answer the question - and make it much harder to go off on a tangent about something else.
'I was there to elicit some thinking… I waited," said O'Donoghue. "You can tell when he [the President] is listening, and you wait for that moment.' Listen.
For the interviewee, silence is a gift. You don't have to say anything. Just think and the words will flow far better.
People need to warm up to admit what they think or feel. When interviewers butt in, it's distracting and the interviewee goes on the defensive. In this interview, Trump is relaxed and willing to be open.
On the assassination attempt, he says, 'Well, I like to think about it as little as possible to be honest.' He adds, 'I don't like dwelling on it because if I did it would be, you know, might be a life changing. I don't want it to have to be that.'
This is part of Trump's political invincibility. Don't look back. Don't be a victim. Don't let things define you. It makes him stronger - and it also makes him look stronger.
Later, when discussing efforts to persuade Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, O'Donoghue is able to ask Trump about his feelings about the collapse of his peace initiatives. What emerges is pure gold.
Gary O'Donoghue Do you trust him [Putin]?
Donald Trump: [long pause] I trust almost nobody to be honest with you.
Gary O'Donoghue: So how do you deal with someone you can't trust?
Donald Trump Well, it's not a question of that. It's like, I'm disappointed that this hasn't been done. The deal we made last week is amazing ( the 5% of annual NATO countries' GDP to be spent on defence. Nobody thought that was possible and it amounts to over $1 trillion a year.
'The thing you have to do with Donald Trump is that there are moments where he stops, and you can tell he is listening, and you wait for that moment to intersperse a very quick question," O'Donoghue says on Newscast. 'He's responsive and quick enough on his feet to take that on and take it where the conversation goes.'
And Trump is quick enough to steer the conversation in a direction he'd rather go to.
Ultimately, even the best interviewer can't transform an interviewee who is unresponsive and a slow thinker, as anyone who tried to interview Joe Biden on the hoof will know. Trump is fast. Moreover, he's smarter than his detractors think.
Ultimately, it often falls on the media advisers around leaders to give them the right advice. That isn't to say they will always listen. But in this case, Trump scores well: his intuition about this particular journalist is right - he trusts him - and he knows he is up to it. He wouldn't have given those answers if he didn't.
Rome wasn't built in a day. Principals should not do interviews unless they are well prepared and quick enough to respond to what's thrown at them. They too need to listen. A considered tone wins respect. It may even win votes. And short answers hit home with viewers and listeners. No one remembers long sentences afterwards - they just remember pithy phrases. Interviewing leaders and being interviewed isn't easy, but the skills can be learned if the ability is there.