CBS News significantly altered a 90-minute interview with Donald Trump, the first sit-down in five years, to fit within its broadcast time frame, airing only about 28 minutes of it. The network has since released a full transcript and an extended version online.
Trump had previously sued CBS over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, which he claimed was deceptively edited to boost her presidential campaign. The lawsuit was dismissed as "meritless" by legal experts, but CBS settled with Trump for $16m in July, agreeing to release transcripts of future interviews with presidential candidates.
During the Sunday night interview, correspondent Norah O'Donnell reminded viewers that Paramount had settled Trump's lawsuit without apologizing or admitting wrongdoing. Trump made several comments that were edited out, including boasting about being paid a significant amount by CBS for changing his answer on election integrity, which he claimed was "election-changing" and resulted in the network paying him to rectify it.
Trump also praised the sale of CBS to the Ellison family, saying Bari Weiss, the new editor-in-chief, was a "great leader," although he didn't know her personally. The president expressed admiration for the new ownership and its potential to bring about positive change in journalism.
The edited interview omitted several instances where Trump questioned the integrity of the 2020 presidential election, claiming it was rigged and stolen. When O'Donnell responded to his comment, saying she hadn't been out much since moving back to Washington D.C., Trump became agitated, accusing her of not noticing the difference in crime rates.
The significant editing of the interview has raised concerns about CBS News' handling of sensitive topics and its approach to fact-checking. The network's decision to release a full transcript and extended version online provides more context for viewers who may have been unaware of the extent of Trump's comments or edits made by the show.
Trump had previously sued CBS over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, which he claimed was deceptively edited to boost her presidential campaign. The lawsuit was dismissed as "meritless" by legal experts, but CBS settled with Trump for $16m in July, agreeing to release transcripts of future interviews with presidential candidates.
During the Sunday night interview, correspondent Norah O'Donnell reminded viewers that Paramount had settled Trump's lawsuit without apologizing or admitting wrongdoing. Trump made several comments that were edited out, including boasting about being paid a significant amount by CBS for changing his answer on election integrity, which he claimed was "election-changing" and resulted in the network paying him to rectify it.
Trump also praised the sale of CBS to the Ellison family, saying Bari Weiss, the new editor-in-chief, was a "great leader," although he didn't know her personally. The president expressed admiration for the new ownership and its potential to bring about positive change in journalism.
The edited interview omitted several instances where Trump questioned the integrity of the 2020 presidential election, claiming it was rigged and stolen. When O'Donnell responded to his comment, saying she hadn't been out much since moving back to Washington D.C., Trump became agitated, accusing her of not noticing the difference in crime rates.
The significant editing of the interview has raised concerns about CBS News' handling of sensitive topics and its approach to fact-checking. The network's decision to release a full transcript and extended version online provides more context for viewers who may have been unaware of the extent of Trump's comments or edits made by the show.
[A screenshot from 60 Minutes with an edited clip playing instead of the full unedited version]
and making us laugh... NOT! 
CBS News is supposed to be a trustworthy source, but it looks like they prioritized time over telling the truth, you know? I mean, who gets to decide what's "election-changing" and what's not? It seems like Trump got a pretty sweet deal, $16m for saying some questionable things 
. And now CBS is just trying to cover their tracks by releasing transcripts online, hoping we won't notice how much was left out 
. I'm all for a good edit, but this feels like they were trying to spin the story rather than give us the real deal 
. Plus, if Trump was getting paid to change his answer on election integrity, that's some serious fishy business 
. But still, it's not like CBS intentionally set out to deceive their viewers. They're just trying to make a show run smoothly 
. And who knows, maybe the new ownership will bring about positive change in journalism - we should be giving them a chance to prove themselves 
!
like, what was cbs thinking?! he's saying some crazy stuff about election integrity and crime rates... it just feels so dodgy. 
. At the same time, it's good that CBS is bein' transparent and providin' more context for viewers who wanna know what really went down in that interview. It's just a messy situation, ya know?
. And I'm glad they released the full transcript online, now we can see what really went down 
. The whole thing does raise some questions about fact-checking and journalism tho... like, how much editing is too much? 
. First, they settled with Trump for $16m without admitting to anything wrong, now they're editing his interviews even further? It's like they're trying to avoid controversy altogether 
. The full transcript and extended version are a good move, but it feels like too little, too late. What really gets me is that Trump had some serious beefs with the 2020 election results 
.
.
. I mean, who else says their answers get 'adjusted' to change the narrative? And yeah, Norah O'Donnell didn't sugarcoat anything when she called him out on that 
. The question is, how will this affect their credibility?
CBS needs to do better on fact-checking, especially when it comes to sensitive topics like elections 
anyway cant believe he got away with changing his answer and getting paid for it by cbs like what even is that shady 
And what really gets me is that they released the full transcript and extended version online, but only after people started talking about it. Like, what's the point of even releasing it if they're just gonna water it down in the first place? 
️. The fact that Trump was paid to change his answer on election integrity is pretty shady though 
.
. I think we need to hold our media outlets accountable for how they handle sensitive topics, especially when it comes to presidential candidates. Transparency is key! 
. Like, can't they just be real? A 90-minute interview gets chopped down to 28 minutes without warning and now we're left wondering what was cut? And don't even get me started on Trump's comments about getting paid by CBS for changing his answer - that's some sketchy stuff right there 
And honestly, I'm not buying the whole "positive change in journalism" vibe from the Ellison family