Donald Trump’s recent appearance on 60 Minutes has certainly stirred up some reactions.
Not long ago, Trump found himself in a legal battle with Paramount Global, the owner of the TV network, due to his claims that an interview with his political opponent had been edited.
Ultimately, Paramount Global consented to a $16 million settlement but declined to apologize for altering a section of former Vice-President Kamala Harris’s interview before the election.
In October, Trump initiated a lawsuit, asserting that the network modified the interview broadcast on its 60 Minutes show to unfairly benefit the Democratic party.
At the time, a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team described the outcome as a ‘victory for the American people’, stating: “CBS and Paramount Global recognized the strength of this historic case and had no choice but to settle. President Trump is committed to ensuring that no one gets away with misleading the American public.”
However, CBS refuted the claim of attempting to mislead viewers, explaining that Harris’ response concerning the Israel-Gaza conflict was shortened due to typical television news practices.
Despite Trump’s legal triumph, many have noted the irony after learning that his own recent interview also underwent editing.
CBS broadcasted a 28-minute version of Trump’s conversation with journalist Norah O’Donnell for television, followed by a 73-minute extended version online.
The full transcript available on CBS’ website indicates that a segment at the end of the interview was not shown on TV.
In this transcript, Trump brings up the lawsuit involving himself and the network’s parent company.
“And actually 60 Minutes paid me a lotta money. And you don’t have to put this on, because I don’t wanna embarrass you,” he remarked.
As the interview concluded, Trump was questioned about individuals he has pardoned, with specific reference to crypto billionaire Changpeng Zhao, who was released in September following charges of money-laundering violations.
“I don’t know who he is,” the US president responded. “I know he got a four-month sentence or something like that, and I heard it was a Biden witch hunt.”
Trump continued discussing Harris and the lawsuit.
The revelations from the transcript have led to some suggesting that “Kamala should sue,” noting the apparent hypocrisy in Trump implying CBS edited out his discussion of the lawsuit.
One commenter noted: “Didn’t Trump sue CBS for doing something similar with Kamala Harris?”
Following the interview, Trump added: “But 60 Minutes was forced to pay me – a lot of money because they took her answer out that was so bad, it was election-changing, two nights before the election. And they put a new answer in. And they paid me a lot of money for that. You can’t have fake news. You’ve gotta have legit news. And I think that it’s happening.”
A White House spokesperson stated: “President Trump gave a powerhouse interview for over an hour that covered a wide range of topics, including the historic 10 months America has had under his leadership.”
We have reached out to Paramount Global for a statement.