CBS News addressed allegations “60 Minutes” edited a story it aired with Vice President Kamala Harris where it was accused of “deceitful editing” by former President Donald Trump, among others.
CBS News published a statement Sunday regarding the broadcast of two different answers to the same question in an interview earlier this month, Fox News reported.
“Former President Donald Trump is accusing 60 Minutes of deceitful editing of our Oct. 7 interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. That is false,” per the statement.
“’60 Minutes’ gave an excerpt of our interview to ‘Face the Nation’ that used a longer section of her answer than that on ‘60 Minutes.’ Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response,” the statement read. “When we edit any interview, whether a politician, an athlete, or movie star, we strive to be clear, accurate and on point. The portion of her answer on ‘60 Minutes’ was more succinct, which allows time for other subjects in a wide-ranging 21-minute-long segment.”
The statement also pointed out that Trump “pulled out of his interview with ‘60 Minutes’ and the vice president participated.”
The Trump campaign has said it never formally accepted the invitation to be interviewed on “60 Minutes.”
“Our long-standing invitation to former President Trump remains open,” the statement read. “If he would like to discuss the issues facing the nation and the Harris interview, we would be happy to have him on ‘60 Minutes.’”
CBS News has not released the unedited video or full transcript of the interview.
The Trump campaign said CBS should still release the transcript.
“’60 Minutes’ just admitted to doing exactly what President Trump accused them of doing. They edited in a different response — from another part of her answer — to make Kamala Harris sound less incoherent than she really was. Their statement is not a denial, it is an admission that they did exactly what they were accused of,” the campaign said. “This is another reminder of how hopelessly biased ‘60 Minutes’ is, and how correct President Trump was to decline their invitation to be subjected to their fake news hackery. Release the Transcript!”
Trump talked with Fox News’ Howard Kurtz about the situation.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. She gave a horrible, incompetent answer on a news program… and so she gives an answer that shows that she’s dumb or incompetent or something’s wrong with her,” Trump said Sunday before CBS released its statement. “It’s so bad that the people at CBS say we’re going to do a little editing… They take the whole ridiculous answer out, and it was a long answer and replace it with a much shorter answer that you had to do with a totally different subject, which also didn’t make sense, but it wasn’t as incompetent.”
CBS News has been under fire since airing the two different answers.
Harris herself has been criticized for offering a “word salad” that was aired by CBS’ “Face the Nation” to promote her interview with Bill Whitaker when he asked why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t listening to the U.S.
Harris’ “word salad” did not make the “60 Minutes” interview, but a shorter version did.
The Center for American Rights, also known as CAR, said the discrepancies “amount to deliberate news distortion — a violation of FCC rules governing broadcasters’ public interest obligations,” and filed a complaint with the FCC.
Trump said CBS should lose its broadcasting license.
“A giant Fake News Scam by CBS & 60 Minutes.
“Her REAL ANSWER WAS CRAZY, OR DUMB, so they actually REPLACED it with another answer in order to save her or, at least, make her look better. A FAKE NEWS SCAM, which is totally illegal,” he wrote on Truth Social. “TAKE AWAY THE CBS LICENSE.”
He continued his disdain in a recent speech.
“Election Interference. She is a Moron, and the Fake News Media wants to hide that fact. An UNPRECEDENTED SCANDAL!!! The Dems got them to do this and should be forced to concede the Election? WOW!”
Trump said in a speech at the Detroit Economic Club.
“The other big news is the fraud committed by ‘60 Minutes’ and CBS together with the Democrat Party, working together with them, which will go down as the single biggest scandal in broadcast history, I predict,” Trump said.
Many viewers posted on X, formerly Twitter, against the news program.
