'60 Minutes' denies altering a segment to disadvantage Trump, prompting his demand for an investigation.
"Previous President Trump is alleging that 60 Minutes engaged in misleading editing of our October 7 interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. However, this claim is unfounded," the program stated, pointing out that Trump himself cancelled his own 60 Minutes interview earlier this month.
The statement goes on to explain, "60 Minutes provided a portion of our interview to Face the Nation that used a more extensive portion of Harris' answer than what was aired on 60 Minutes. The question and response stayed the same, but the segment of her answer utilized was different. When editing any interview, our aim is to be transparent, accurate, and on point. The section of her answer on 60 Minutes was more concise, allowing for discussion of various topics within the 21-minute-long segment."
Trump voiced these criticisms during an appearance on Fox's "MediaBuzz" that aired recently. He suggested that Harris should be investigated due to her "60 Minutes" appearance and reiterated his accusations against CBS News for editing the encounter with correspondent Bill Whitaker. "They eliminated the entire response and inserted a completely different answer that gives the impression she's normal," he told host Howard Kurtz.
Trump's criticism of CBS occurs as he has consistently turned down offers for debates, preferring one-on-one meetings with conservative media outlets. The Harris campaign has capitalized on Trump's decision to avoid interviews, using it to emphasize his unsuitability for the presidency.
In response, 60 Minutes extended an invitation to Trump for a future interview, stating, "Our open invitation to former President Trump remains. Should he be interested in discussing national issues and addressing the Harris interview, we would be delighted to have him on 60 Minutes."
Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt continued the attack against 60 Minutes later, alleging that CBS "admitted to the manipulation that President Trump accused them of." According to Leavitt, "They swapped in a different response - from another part of her answer - to make Kamala Harris appear less disorganized than she truly was."
Trump had previously advocated for CBS to lose its license over his allegations that the network altered Harris' response to make her appear more favorable. Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel condemned these statements as "threats against free speech."
In October 2020, Trump abruptly terminated an interview with "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl when he took issue with her questions.
Trump and his allies have frequently threatened the press. Last year, he called for Comcast, NBC News and MSNBC's parent company, to be investigated "for treason" over its coverage and suggested that if re-elected, the news media would face severe consequences.
CNN's Liam Reilly, Kate Sullivan, and Jack Forrest contributed to this report.
Despite Trump's allegations of misleading editing in the 60 Minutes interview, the program emphasized its commitment to transparency and accuracy in editing. Trump's criticism of CBS News and their editing of his interview with Vice President Harris has been a recurring theme in his politics.
