Media scandal: CBS still refuses to release Harris transcript from ’60 Minutes’ interview after ‘friendly editing’

The Donald Trump campaign has issued a sharp statement in response to a recent “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. The statement criticizes the show for allegedly editing the interview to make Harris appear more coherent. The campaign claims CBS altered her responses and calls on the network to release the full transcript of the interview, accusing the show of being biased against former President Trump.

Trump Campaign Accuses “60 Minutes” of Editing Harris’ Responses

In its statement, the Trump campaign accused “60 Minutes” of manipulating Harris’ answers by combining different parts of her response to make her appear more articulate. “They edited in a different response – from another part of her answer – to make Kamala Harris sound less incoherent than she really was,” the campaign said on Sunday. The campaign further stated that the show’s response to the controversy was an “admission” rather than a denial, reinforcing their claim of bias.

CBS Declines to Release Full Interview Transcript

Despite requests from the Trump campaign and mounting pressure from critics, CBS News has not responded to calls to release the full transcript or unedited footage of the interview. The controversy began earlier this month when the show aired two different answers to the same question posed to Harris during the interview, sparking allegations of selective editing.

CBS Addresses the Controversy

After weeks of criticism, CBS issued a statement on Sunday addressing the backlash over the interview. The network denied former President Trump’s claims that the show had deliberately deceived its audience. “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. Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response,” the statement explained. CBS defended its editing choices, claiming the more succinct version of Harris’ answer allowed for additional topics to be covered in the interview’s 21-minute segment.

Trump’s Ongoing Feud with “60 Minutes“

CBS noted that while former President Trump had accused the network of unfair editing, he had declined their invitation for an interview. The statement added that their invitation to Trump remains open, and they would be happy to discuss both the Harris interview and the issues facing the nation. The Trump campaign, however, denied that it had ever formally accepted the invitation for an interview.

Origins of the Controversy

The controversy started earlier in October when CBS News aired two different versions of Harris’ response to the same question in its “60 Minutes” interview. The interview covered a wide range of topics, but the Trump campaign and conservative commentators seized on Harris’ remarks about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling her response a “word salad.” The discrepancies between the aired versions of the interview ignited the current controversy.