CNN —
CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday denied former President Donald Trump’s claims that the show edited his interview with Vice President Kamala Harris at the direction of his campaign.
“Former President Donald Trump is accusing ’60 Minutes’ of deceptively editing his Oct. 7 interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. That’s false,” the show said. He first said in a statement that he had withdrawn his “60 Minutes” interview.
“60 Minutes published an excerpt of our interview on Face the Nation, which included a longer response section than 60 Minutes,” the statement said. “Same question. Same answer. But different parts of the response. When editing interviews with politicians, athletes, movie stars, etc., we strive to be clear, accurate, and to the point. 60 The minute part of her answer was more concise, allowing time for other subjects within the broader 21-minute segment.”
In an interview on Fox’s “Media Buzz” that aired early Sunday, President Trump suggested that Harris should be investigated over her appearance on “60 Minutes.” He reiterated his accusation that CBS News edited a sit-down with correspondent Bill Whitaker. “They took the whole answer and put a completely different answer in that look, which makes her look normal,” he told host Howard Kurtz.
The former president’s criticism of CBS comes as he repeatedly declined invitations for additional debates from television networks including CNN and FOX News, opting instead for sit-downs with right-wing media outlets. Harris’ campaign tried to take advantage of her Republican rival’s refusal to give interviews to spread the message that she is not qualified to be president.
“Our long-standing invitation to former President Trump is still open. If he would like to discuss issues facing the country or the Harris interview, he would be happy to appear on 60 Minutes. ” the program said in a statement.
Trump campaign spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt continued to go after “60 Minutes” late Sunday, falsely claiming that CBS “admitted to doing exactly what President Trump has accused of doing.”
“They edited different parts of her answers into different answers to make Kamala Harris sound more disjointed than she actually was,” Levitt said in a statement.
Earlier this month, President Trump called on CBS to “revoke its license” over his accusations that the network substituted Harris’ answers for others to “make her look better.” Federal Communications Commission Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel condemned the comments as a “threat to free speech.”
Then, in October 2020, President Trump met with 60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl and abruptly ended the interview after apparently objecting to Stahl’s questions.
Trump and his allies have repeatedly threatened news organizations. Last year, he demanded that Comcast, the parent company of NBC News and MSNBC, be investigated for “treason” over its reporting, saying that if re-elected president, news organizations “will pay a heavy price. ” he said.
CNN’s Liam Riley, Kate Sullivan and Jack Forrest contributed to this request.
