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CBS News broke its two-week silence on the much-condemned editing of its “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, saying the network did not seek to deceive the public before taking a jab at former President Donald Trump.
The network said in a statement that it used “a different portion of her response” to a question by “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker in the Oct. 7 interview versus the answer shown in a promotional clip.
“Former President Donald Trump is accusing ’60 Minutes’ of deceitful editing of our Oct. 7 interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. That is false,” said CBS News in a Sunday statement.
“’60 Minutes’ gave an excerpt of our interview to ’Face the Nation’ that used a longer section of her answer than that on ’60 Minutes,’” the statement continued. “Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response. 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.”
The statement was issued hours after Mr. Trump blasted the network in an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Media Buzz,” saying CBS “should be taken off the air.”
The network has been condemned, and not just by Mr. Trump, for showing Ms. Harris giving two entirely different responses to the same question by Mr. Whitaker.
The Federalist ripped the network for “slick editing,” while Independent Women’s Voice senior analyst Carrie Sheffield denounced its “flagrant media bias.”
The Center for American Rights, a conservative watchdog group, filed a complaint last week with the Federal Communications Commission seeking the full interview transcript, while the New York Post reported that former CBS staffers have called for an investigation.
In its Sunday statement, however, CBS made it appear as though Mr. Trump is the only critic bothered by the editing discrepancy.
“Remember, Mr. Trump pulled out of his interview with ’60 Minutes’ and the vice president participated,” said the statement. “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.’”
Both the promotional clip and longer interview show Mr. Whitaker asking a question about the Biden administration’s relationship with Israel: “But it seems that Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu is not listening.”
In the “Face the Nation” clip, Ms. Harris replies: “Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by or a result of many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region.”
In the “60 Minutes” interview, Ms. Harris replies: “We are not gonna stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.”
Ignore the evidence of your own eyes and ears. @CBS & @60Minutes are done for me forever (or until they admit this was deceptive editing and apologize). pic.twitter.com/ozUnUXgZAY
— Joshua Hartley (@JHartley2) October 21, 2024
In its FCC complaint, the center said: “Same interview, same question, two completely different answers.”
Catherine Herridge, a former CBS News senior investigative correspondent, said Sunday on X that the CBS statement is “an indicator @CBSNews hasn’t contained the fallout from its Kamala Harris @60Minutes edit.”
CBS published Oct. 7 a story about the interview with more extensive excerpts, but Mr. Herridge and others have admonished the network for failing to release the full, unedited transcript or unedited video.
“Releasing the full unedited transcript is consistent with journalistic transparency and it stands behind the integrity of the entire Kamala Harris edit, not just the clips under scrutiny,” said Ms. Herridge.
Networks routinely edit televised interviews to accommodate time constraints, but the sharply contrasting responses in the Harris interview have Republicans worried that CBS is putting its thumb on the scale for Democrats ahead of the 2024 election.
House Speaker Mike Johnson accused CBS News last week of selectively editing his Oct. 13 interview on “Face the Nation,” saying that the network removed an important section of his response to a question about the federal response to Hurricane Helene.
He included video of his full response and the edited portion that appeared on air.
“CBS has been under fire for selectively editing their interviews to PROMOTE Democrats and UNDERMINE Republicans,” Mr. Johnson said on X. “Yesterday, they chose to cut FIVE important minutes out of my nearly 15 minute interview. You can be the judge as to why.”
I recently traveled to NC and victims of Hurricane Helene told me nearly two weeks after landfall, the Biden-Harris Administration had STILL not provided them with all the resources they desperately needed.
But CBS selectively edited OUT ENTIRELY this first-hand perspective. pic.twitter.com/ZjO5LWdtsM
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) October 15, 2024
The Harris campaign has denied any role in influencing the editing the “60 Minutes” interview.
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