CBS News Puts Out Defensive Statement on Sleazy Editing of Kamala ’60 Minutes’ Interview

CBS News put out a statement of self-defense on Sunday night about the obvious differences in editing of their Kamala Harris interview. The word salad aired in a Face The Nation promo didn’t match the shorter, more coherent answer that aired the next night on a 60 Minutes special.

It began like a PolitiFact evaluation: “Former President Donald Trump is accusing 60 Minutes of deceitful editing of our Oct. 7 interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. That is false.”

If the two different answers aren’t “deceitful,” they’re sneaky. The one in the program clearly makes Harris sound more in command of the English language than the larger answer did.

CBS insisted it was “Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response.” But CBS still refuses to release the full transcript (or partial transcript of this specific question and answer), which can only arouse suspicion. Let’s just guess they cued her up for a second try at the answer. 

They proclaimed: “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.” It also makes her look more in command of the issues. It’s putting a thumb on the scale for the Democrats. 

Then the statement tried to attack Trump for backing out of a hostile interview with Scott Pelley, who as an evening-news anchor in 2017 slammed Trump for “presidential statements devoid of reality” and “tweeting tantrums and falsehoods.”

“Remember, Mr. Trump pulled out of his interview with 60 Minutes and the vice president participated,” they proclaimed, as if CBS didn’t have a double standard. “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.”

They’re trying to imply Trump is a coward, when they won’t display the courage to let the public see how they manipulated these video clips. 

The Trump campaign issued its own statement, which read in part: 

60 Minutes just 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. Their statement is not a denial, it is an admission that they did exactly what they were accused of.