On Sunday evening, “60 Minutes” finally released a statement addressing the scandal surrounding the show’s recent interview with Kamala Harris. The responses have not been kind.
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Before we get there, though, the background of this situation is important. As RedState reported, “60 Minutes” put out a clip on the internet of Harris answering a question about Israel and the war in Gaza. As you’ll see, the word “answering” is doing some heavy lifting there, as what came out of the vice president’s mouth was a nearly incomprehensible word salad.
WHITAKER: But it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening.
HARRIS: 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.
Harris has a long history of spewing abject vapidness when pressed on any serious issue. To call her lazy would be an insult to the lazy. This is a woman who puts zero effort into anything because she doesn’t think she needs to. It wasn’t just Republicans who recognized how bad that exchange looked for her, though. “60 Minutes” decided to cut that answer and paste it into a completely different one when they aired the interview on television.
SEE: ’60 Minutes’ Has Some Explaining to Do After Eye-Opening Edit Discovered on Harris Word Salad
Here’s what the edited version said.
WHITAKER: But it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening.
HARRIS: 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.
That brings me to the “60 Minutes” statement in question. Instead of taking responsibility for the deceptive editing, the statement blames Donald Trump and insists the swapping of answers was inconsequential because they were the “same.”
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Former President Donald Trump is accusing 60 Minutes of deceitful editing of our Oct. 7 interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. That is false.
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. 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.
Remember, Mr. Trump pulled out of his interview with 60 Minutes and the vice president participated.
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.
What is written above is simply a lie. As the above transcripts show, in no way, shape, or form were the two answers the “same.” Further, to call Trump a liar when he is absolutely correct about what “60 Minutes” did just shows how far gone CBS News is. That statement is not from a news organization. It’s a statement from the Harris campaign, and that wasn’t lost on anyone, including the Trump camp.
The Trump campaign has responded with the obvious retort: Release the transcript.
They also put out the following statement.
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. This is another reminder of how hopelessly biased 60 Minutes is, and how correct President Trump was to decline their invitation to be subjected to their fake news hackery. Release the transcript!” – Karoline Leavitt, Trump Campaign National Press Secretary
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Why won’t “60 Minutes” release the transcript and end this controversy? Because they did exactly what they are being accused of. They copied and pasted a different answer over one of Harris’ word salads to protect her politically.
CBS News is a joke. It is a dumpster of a network that no Republican should ever appear on again. Deny them the credibility and let them languish as a broadcast version of MSNBC. No network that behaves that way and then has the audacity to put out a statement like that deserves to be taken seriously.