Trump agrees to future CNN interview after Graham call-in with Tapper

President Donald Trump agreed to return for a more extended interview with host Jake Tapper during a phone call to CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, after calling in to discuss the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Tapper extended the invitation toward the end of the interview after Trump refused to answer several questions about the latest U.S. military action against Iran and the status of the Strait of Hormuz.

“Well, I know you don’t want to talk about anything else out of respect for Lindsey Graham, but we’d love to have you back with us sometime because I have so many other questions to ask you, sir,” Tapper said.

Trump accepted the invitation and said, “Of course we’ll do that. We’ll do that,” without setting a date or specifying whether future attendance would be in person or by phone.

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“We’re trying to get CNN back to normal, and we’re going to do that,” Trump added.

Tapper responded, “I’m on a normal road here sir, thank you for your time and thank you for calling.”

“Good. You are,” Trump said.

The president attended the program to commemorate Graham, who died on Saturday after returning to Washington from a trip to Ukraine. Trump said the senator called him Saturday evening and appeared tired from the trip, but otherwise sounded good.

“He was full of emotion and strength. He was tired. He said, ‘I’m tired because it’s been a long trip,’ but other than that, he was fine,” Trump said. he said.

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Trump said when the interview ended that his administration was “trying to get CNN back on a normal path.” (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Trump also told Tapper that he considered Graham’s defense of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his 2018 confirmation hearing to be the senator’s “finest moment.”

“I think his greatest moment was defending Brett Kavanaugh, who was a great man,” Trump said. “I think this is in the top 10, maybe top 5, in the history of the Senate,” Trump said. “It was an incredible show and she did it from the heart. She had strong feelings for Brett and she did it from the heart and it turned everything around.”

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Tapper told Trump he was “on a normal track here” after inviting the president back to the network. (Bryan Bedder/Variety via Getty Images)

Tapper briefly tried to turn to Iran, noting Graham’s support for recent U.S. attacks and asking whether the country was at war again. Trump declined to expand on the topic during a call centered on Graham.

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“Well, out of respect for Lindsey, I don’t want to do that, I’m not talking about it,” Trump said. “We hit them hard last night. So I don’t want to talk about it, but I will say we hit them hard last night.”