CBS News Heavily Edits Trump's 60 Minutes Sit-Down, Removing Boast About Broadcaster Paying Him Substantial Money

The broadcast network show 60 Minutes significantly trimmed a conversation featuring the former president broadcast on Sunday evening, marking the initial sit-down with the program since 2019.

The former president spoke with correspondent the CBS anchor for 90 minutes, yet merely approximately 28 minutes aired on television. A complete text version of the interview was later released, together with a 73-minute online version from the interview.

The edits stand out because, exactly one year prior to the president's interview on the program at his Mar-a-Lago resort, he had sued CBS over post-production changes of a news program segment featuring the vice president, which he alleged was manipulated to benefit her chances during the race.

While many legal experts largely rejected the lawsuit calling it baseless and unlikely to succeed under the first amendment, CBS reached an agreement with Trump for $16m this past summer. Under the settlement, CBS had agreed that it would publish full records from upcoming discussions with candidates.

At the beginning of the broadcast, O’Donnell reminded viewers that Paramount settled the legal dispute, adding that the resolution lacked an apology or admission of wrongdoing”.

During the interview, in one segment that did not air, the president teased the network about the agreement and repeated his claims toward the broadcaster.

“In fact 60 Minutes paid me a lotta money. And you don’t have to put this on, because I don’t wanna cause you discomfort, and I trust you’re not,” the president stated. “However 60 Minutes had to compensate me a large amount since they removed Harris’s response from the segment which was damaging, it proved election-changing, two nights before the election. And they put a new answer in. They compensated me a lot of money for that. We cannot tolerate fake news. We must have legit news. I believe this is occurring.”

In a separate segment not broadcast from the discussion, the president commended the sale of the network to the Ellison family and said the network’s new editor-in-chief, the journalist, is a “excellent addition”.

Trump said he didn’t know the editor, but told O’Donnell: “People say she is impressive.

“In my view you have a talented director, frankly, that individual now heading your entire organization, is superb – from what I know,” he said.

Trump was especially effusive in complimenting David Ellison and his parent, Larry, the new owner of the network's parent firm, Paramount Global, via their firm Skydance Media.

“I think a very positive development recently involves this program and the change in ownership, the network under new management,” the president commented. “I believe it is a major improvement that has occurred for years toward a transparent and good press.”

O’Donnell offered no direct reply to the president’s comments about Weiss and the Ellisons.

Included in Trump’s many answers which were cut were several comments questioning the integrity of the last election, which he described “was rigged and stolen”.

During one exchange in the interview, in a segment that was not aired, the president attempted to persuade O’Donnell to admit that crime was down in Washington DC, where she lives.

“You reside in DC. You are aware of this,” Trump remarked, inquiring of the correspondent: “Do you see a difference?”

“I think I’ve been working too hard,” she responded. “I have not gotten out and about often … I get in my car to the studio and I go home.”

Trump responded “that is an evasion” and insisted that O’Donnell noticed a difference.

Trump then seemed to suggest that the exchange didn’t need to be aired on the show.

“You don’t have to include that part,” he noted. “No concerns, don’t worry, I do not wish to cause her embarrassment.”