Former President Donald J. Trump‘s legal team has threatened legal action against CBS News if the network does not publish the full transcript of its 60 Minutes interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. The controversy centers on differing versions of Harris’s response to a question about Israel. A promotional clip of the interview showed a long, rambling answer. However, the version of the interview that went to air shows an entirely different, more assured answer, with the original not present even in the interview’s written transcript.
Attorney Edward Andrew Paltzik, representing Trump, accuses CBS of manipulative editing intended to confuse voters about Harris’s capabilities, presenting her in a more favorable light. He argues that news outlets have a duty to present accurate information rather than skew interviews to benefit a preferred candidate. Trump’s legal team has requested the release of the complete, unedited transcript to the public, emphasizing the network’s obligation to retain all related documents and communications for potential litigation.
CBS claims the disparity results from using different sections of the same answer in their programming. A statement released by 60 Minutes says that an excerpt given to Face the Nation included a lengthier segment than what was eventually broadcast. The network maintains that the excerpts were part of one consistent response—but the originally released version of Harris’s answer is not just longer, it is completely different.
On Truth Social, Trump denounced the editing as potentially the biggest scandal in broadcast history and demanded CBS release the full transcript, alleging that Harris’s response was altered significantly to enhance her image.
BREAKING: 60 minutes just quietly *edited out* Kamala’s word salad answer on Israel. Unreal.
Great catch by @mazemoore pic.twitter.com/u3SbMqKz7w
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 8, 2024