Former President Donald Trump was criticized after claiming in a post on Truth Social that 60 Minutes "sliced and diced" answers Vice President Kamala Harris gave during an interview and demanded an investigation.
Trump claimed, without providing any evidence, that Harris's responses were "virtually incoherent" and suggested they had been edited "as many as four times in a single sentence or thought."
He wrote:
"I've never seen this before, but the producers of 60 Minutes slice and diced ('cut and pasted') Lyin' Kamala's answers to questions, which were virtually incoherent, over and over again, some by as many as four times in a single sentence or thought, all in an effort, possibly illegal as part of the 'News Division,' which must be licensed, to make her look more 'Presidential,' or a [sic] least, better."
"It may also be a major Campaign Finance Violation. This is a stain on the reputation of 60 Minutes that is not recoverable - It will always remain with this once storied brand. I have never heard of such a thing being done in 'News.'"
"It is the very definition of FAKE NEWS! The public is owed a MAJOR AND IMMEDIATE APOLOGY! This is an open and shut case, and must be investigated, starting today!"
You can see what Trump said below.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
Although press outlets have reached out to both Trump's campaign and CBS, neither party has commented on the matter, although it's unclear what campaign finance laws he believes were violated. This is just more smoke being blown to distract from Trump's own decision to cancel his own appearance on the program out of fear of actually being questioned.
On social media, users have pointed to a video clip of the interview posted online by CBS that appears to show Harris answering a question differently than how she was shown answering the same question in other footage shared by the network.
In all of the videos, journalist Bill Whitaker asks Harris if the U.S. has "no sway over [Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu]." In one version of the exchange, she responds at length, while in other footage shared by CBS, she answers the same question but in a shorter and more direct way.
It’s unclear why the videos differ, including whether the footage was edited for length or clarity. The fact that two entirely different responses to the same question aired on consecutive days caused some confusion, although they could have been two portions of one long response to Whitaker's question. CBS has posted both interview clips on its YouTube channel.
And Trump's claim was swiftly criticized online.
Trump's attack came after he backed out of participating in his own interview with “60 Minutes,” a tradition for presidential candidates dating back to 1968.
The program stated that he canceled last week because he didn’t want to be fact-checked and wanted an apology for how his interview with the program went in 2020.
In contrast, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung insisted that “there was nothing scheduled or agreed upon.” Additionally, Trump's campaign has called for a full transcript of the interview to be released.
Despite Trump's assertion, federal campaign finance regulations do not apply to editorial decisions made by private news organizations.
