Trudeau interview to air on ’60 Minutes’ on Sunday, ahead of White House visit
Posted Mar 4, 2016 08:43:35 AM.
Last Updated Mar 4, 2016 09:00:21 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – A profile interview with Justin Trudeau is to air Sunday on the iconic CBS program “60 Minutes,” just days before the prime minister travels to Washington, D.C., for a state visit.
A promotional blurb on the network’s website describes Trudeau as “a scion of Canadian political royalty” from a family often compared to the Kennedys in the United States.
It touches on the Liberal decision to bring in 25,000 Syrian refugees, a move questioned by some in the United States.
Trudeau has defended the refugee plan as safe and the right thing to do, saying he prefers openness and respect to erecting barriers and imposing oppressive policies.
He concedes there is a risk, but no more so than whenever any tourist, immigrant or refugee enters the country.
In a brief clip of the interview posted on the site, correspondent Lara Logan asks the prime minister about his “unusual path” to the job and criticism that he wasn’t ready for it.
“I was a snowboard instructor, I was a bouncer in a nightclub, I was a whitewater river guide … I worked as a teacher,” he replies. “I make no apologies for a very varied set of life experiences.”
He shrugs off suggestions that he is too young and unprepared.
“You cannot let yourself be defined by the hopes that you will fulfil the darkest wishes of your opponents,” he says.
The “60 Minutes” interview airs Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.
