‘We Dodged a Bullet’: Raw Tapes of Harris’ Controversial 60 Minutes Interview Released After Trump Sued CBS
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released the full, unedited version of a CBS News interview with Vice President Kamala Harris after a legal battle initiated by President Donald Trump.
The footage, which had been edited down to a 20-minute segment aired on 60 Minutes, originally spanned over an hour and contained multiple remarks and exchanges that were left out of the broadcast.
The release of the complete interview has reignited accusations of media bias, as key portions of Harris’ responses on critical topics such as foreign policy, immigration and the economy were either removed or altered in the aired version.
The controversy stems from CBS’ selective editing, which TTOA previously reported omitted the vast majority of her remarks on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and also scrubbed answers about China, Iran and the U.S. economy. Her criticisms of Donald Trump were also toned down.
The lawsuit, filed in October by Trump’s legal team, accused CBS of manipulating the interview to shape public perception ahead of the presidential election.
Following a legal review, the FCC mandated that the full interview be made public, revealing significant discrepancies between what was aired and what Harris originally stated.
One of the most glaring edits involved Harris’ comments about Trump, the Daily Mail highlighted.
During the interview, the vice president labeled Trump a “racist” and criticized his rhetoric concerning Haitian immigrants and the events in Charlottesville.
These remarks were entirely cut from the televised version.
Instead, the edited segment portrayed a milder exchange in which Harris merely stated: “I’m glad you’re pointing these comments out that he has made, that have resulted in a response by most reasonable people to say it’s just wrong.”
Harris’ stance on Israel was also significantly altered in the 60 Minutes segment.
When asked about the U.S. approach to ending the war in Gaza, the aired version included Harris saying, “Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. This war has to end.” However, the uncut version showed a more detailed response in which she insisted that securing a ceasefire and a hostage deal should be the administration’s “number one imperative,” per Daily Mail.
CBS also edited out Harris’ remarks on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In the full interview, Harris gave a lengthy answer about the Biden administration’s frustrations with Netanyahu, including references to reports that his government had repeatedly blindsided the U.S.
Instead of airing her full response, CBS shortened it to: “We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.”
CBS also entirely removed Harris’ response to a question about America’s greatest foreign adversary.
The vice president initially named Iran, stating, “Iran has American blood on their hands,” before elaborating on the need to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
This exchange was excluded from the aired segment, Daily Mail further noted.
Harris was also questioned about China’s growing influence and its control over the South China Sea.
The original footage included her discussing U.S. military coordination with the Philippines, American business interests and ongoing diplomatic efforts.
The aired version, however, cut these details, leaving only a short statement: “We must win the competition for the 21st century with China.”
CBS made additional trims to Harris’ answers regarding NATO and the war in Ukraine.
When asked if she would support Ukraine joining NATO if she were president, her full response discussed the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the alliance. However, CBS reduced her response to a direct attack on Trump, in which she claimed, “Donald Trump, if he were President, Putin would be sitting in Kiev right now.”
A question about whether the U.S. would use military force to defend Taiwan was also edited.
Harris initially dodged the question, choosing instead to pivot to a discussion about fentanyl. This response did not air in the final version.
Another significant change involved Harris’ response to a question about her economic plan.
The full interview included her mentioning that 16 Nobel laureates and economic analysts had reviewed her plan and warned that Trump’s policies would “induce inflation, increase inflation, and bring about a recession.” However, CBS edited out her mention of inflation, presenting only her broad defense of her economic policies and her assertion that investing in small businesses would strengthen the economy.
On immigration, CBS edited out three key words—”which I support”—from Harris’ answer about the Biden administration’s border security bill. The omission left viewers with the impression that Harris was less committed to the policy than she actually was, the Daily Mail further noted.
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