CBS News’ “60 Minutes” faced renewed calls to release the full video and transcript of its interview with Vice President Kamala Harris after it released a statement over the weekend defending the way that the interview was edited.
The show claimed that former President Donald Trump’s remarks that it had deceptively edited the interview were “false.”
“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,” the show claimed. “Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response.”
The statement claimed that 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 ended by taking a shot at Trump: “Remember, Mr. Trump pulled out of his interview with 60 Minutes and the vice president participated.”
CBS News’ statement further stoked allegations online that “60 Minutes” was hiding something.
“@60minutes has now confirmed what we all know: they edited the video,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). “Now release the FULL transcript and video.”
Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY) posted on X: “@60Minutes , it’s past time to release the full @KamalaHarris transcript and video.”
MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ COMING TO DAILYWIRE+ OCT. 28
“Seriously – what are they hiding?” asked SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly. “How bad was it?”
“This defensive, shameful statement blames Trump – and all of us – for noticing the edit they made to make Harris look better (or ‘more succinct’ in their framing),” said Steve Krakauer, executive producer of “The Megyn Kelly Show.” “Truly the final nail in the coffin of this news organization’s credibility.”
Former CBS News journalist Catherine Herridge posted on X: “This statement is an indicator @CBSNews hasn’t contained the fallout from its Kamala Harris @60Minutes edit.”
“Releasing the full unedited transcript is consistent with journalistic transparency and it stands behind the integrity of the entire Kamala Harris edit, not just the clips under scrutiny,” she said. “CBS has the ability to immediately settle these questions and address merits of FCC complaint alleging ‘news distortion.'”
“There is ample precedent [sic] @CBSNews for releasing full, unedited transcripts,” she added.
The Trump campaign responded to CBS News’ statement by saying that the show “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,” they said. “Their statement is not a denial, it is an admission that they did exactly what they were accused of.”
“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,” the statement added. “Release the transcript!”
Controversy erupted over the interview when host Bill Whitaker was discussing with Harris the United States’ financial support for Israel in its war against genocidal Islamic terrorists in the region.
“But it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening,” Whitaker said to Harris.
In a promotional clip that was posted by CBS News on October 6, Harris responded to that statement from Whitaker by saying: “The work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by or a result of many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region.”
However, when the full interview was broadcast by the network on the following night, that statement from Harris was nowhere to be found. Those words were not included anywhere in the televised report, nor did they appear in the interview when it was posted on YouTube, the interview’s transcript, or the show’s “Overtime” segment.
Instead, on television and in the interview posted online, Whitaker’s identical statement that “it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening,” is followed by Harris saying: “We are not gonna stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.”
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. TAKE AWAY THE CBS LICENSE. Election Interference.… pic.twitter.com/JRxSda3NeC
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2024