’60 Minutes’ Responds To Donald Trump, Says He’s Making A “False” Claim That Its Kamala Harris Interview Was Deceitfully Edited
After Donald Trump’s continued attacks, 60 Minutes issued a statement Sunday in which it pushed back on the former president’s claim that its interview with Kamala Harris was deceitfully edited.
Trump has continuously blasted the show and CBS, even calling for the network’s broadcast license to be revoked. In a Face the Nation promo for its Oct. 7 election special, Harris was asked a question by Bill Whitaker and gave an answer that was different from the one that aired on the broadcast itself.
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In a statement, the show said, “Former President Donald Trump is accusing 60 Minutes of deceitful editing of our Oct. 7 interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. That is 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. Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response. 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 show added, “Remember, Mr. Trump pulled out of his interview with 60 Minutes and the vice president participated. Our long-standing invitation to former President Trump remains open. 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.”
The Harris interview ran as part of an election special. According to CBS News, Trump initially agreed to be part of the show, but then backed out of the interview.
After it aired, Trump keyed in on the different Harris answers. CBS News and 60 Minutes did not initially comment, but he appeared to be griping about something that is common practice on newsmagazines, which have to edit extended interviews into a much shorter segment. Trump claimed that the show was trying to help Harris by including a more succinct part of her answer.
But Trump also seized on the edit to call for CBS to lose its broadcast license, something he has done before with other networks that have aired news content he doesn’t like. The FCC licenses stations, not networks, and its chairwoman, Jessica Rosenworcel, said in a statement, “While repeated attacks against broadcast stations by the former President may now be familiar, these threats against free speech are serious and should not be ignored. As I’ve said before, the First Amendment is a cornerstone of our democracy. The FCC does not and will not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage.”
On Fox News’ MediaBuzz earlier on Sunday, Trump told Howard Kurtz that “we are going to subpoena their records.” Kurtz himself called it unethical.
But Fox News has also edited interviews. In 2022, the network aired Tucker Carlson’s interview with Kanye West that left out West’s antisemitic comments, according to Vice News, which obtained the excised clips. According to CNN, Fox News excised portions of its town hall with Trump last week that removed a questioners statement that she was voting for the former president, and another moment when the audience chanted, “Trump, Trump.” Fox News did not say that the all-women audience was predominantly made up of Trump supporters, but that was apparent from the start, when he received a standing ovation and loud cheers when he entered.
Trump’s campaign responded to the 60 Minutes statement by claiming that the show “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.”
Trump, though, has benefited from reporters including only portions of his answers, leaving out the incoherent parts, as the AP detailed earlier this month. The practice has become so prevalent that a term was coined for it: “sane-washing.”
But Trump’s practice also has been to try to gin up a controversy to distract from other aspects of the story. During the 60 Minutes election special, the show made clear that Trump had agreed to do an interview before backing out of it.
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