Trump slams CBS over Kamala Harris ‘60 Minutes’ interview transcript, says network should be shut down: ‘Scandal!’
President Trump said Thursday that CBS should be shut down after the network released the unedited transcript and footage from the controversial “60 Minutes'” interview of Kamala Harris that is being probed by the Federal Communications Commission.
“CBS and 60 Minutes defrauded the public by doing something which has never, to this extent, been seen before,” Trump said on Truth Social. “They 100% removed Kamala’s horrible election changing answers to questions, and replaced them with completely different, and far better, answers, taken from another part of the interview.”
Trump claimed that the interview was “election changing stuff,” even though Trump went on to beat the Democratic vice president.
Trump accused the show of “deceitful” editing and “news distortion” in a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS, after the network aired a promo of the interview in which Harris gave a bumbling, long-winded answer about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Harris’ answer to the same question in the “60 Minutes” interview was different, more concise and clear, raising eyebrows that the network edited the piece to help the presidential candidate. CBS denied any wrongdoing.
Trump in the fall demanded that the Tiffany Network turn over the unedited transcript, which it finally did on Wednesday amid pressure from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who has the power to revoke the licenses of CBS’ individual TV stations it owns.
If Carr finds evidence of misleading editing, it could impact regulatory approval of Paramount’s $8 billion merger with Skydance, which was set to close by next month.
“CBS should lose its license, and the cheaters at 60 Minutes should all be thrown out, and this disreputable ‘NEWS’ show should be immediately terminated,” Trump continued in his post. “This will go down as the biggest Broadcasting SCANDAL in History!!!”
Carr told Fox News that the FCC has opened up a proceeding and is seeking public comment on the news distortion complaint.
“Transparency here is important. The FCC’s review will continue, and we look forward to the public’s feedback,” Carr said.
In a question from “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker about what the US could do to stop the Israel-Hamas war from spinning out of control, Harris provides a rambling, 140-word answer, according to the full transcript.
The version that was broadcast showed a succinct, 56-word reply.
Another question about Netanyahu seemingly “charting his own course” while defying Biden administration calls to moderate the military response was also heavily edited.
The Harris reply that was broadcast was chopped to just 20 words: “The work that we do diplomatically with the leadership of Israel is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles.”
However, the full transcript shows Harris giving a long-winded, 179-word answer.
While editing for clarity is standard, ousted CBS News investigative reporter Catherine Herridge publicly criticized her former employer.
“@60Minutes did then-VP Harris a favor in the edit room,” Herridge said on X. “Her lengthy, ‘word salad responses’ were heavily condensed into a final broadcast segment that felt succinct and presidential. I clocked one of Harris’ answers at over three minutes.”
She slammed CBS for giving Harris a softball interview, “asking questions such as, ‘Why do you want to be President of the United States?'”
While Herridge said there was “not a journalistic foul an internal edit,” the public can decide if the “heavily edited interview” distorted Harris’ performance, before asking if then-candidate Trump “would have received the same treatment if he had accepted 60 Minutes invitation.”
After releasing the transcript, CBS said the transcripts “show — consistent with 60 Minutes’ repeated assurances to the public — that the 60 Minutes broadcast was not doctored or deceitful.”
Trump and CBS have reportedly begun “very preliminary” settlement talks over his lawsuit — which has drawn the rancor of network staff.
Shari Redstone, the media heiress who controls Paramount, will reportedly get $1.75 billion as part of the Skydance deal.
The FCC, an independent federal agency, issues eight-year licenses to individual broadcast stations, not networks.
