“60 Minutes” on Sunday failed to address the growing controversy that has engulfed CBS News after the network aired two different answers to the same question from its high-profile interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.
CBS News has been under fire after Harris’ lengthy “word salad” answer that was aired on the Oct. 6 episode of “Face the Nation” to promote the “60 Minutes” sit-down was edited out of the primetime edition of the show that aired Monday, Oct. 7. CBS has faced pressure to release the transcript, or unedited video, as many question whether Harris’ widely mocked answer was simply cut for time or removed to help the Democratic presidential nominee.
The first episode of “60 Minutes” since the controversy erupted aired on Sunday night, but the network did not inform its viewers of the situation or mention it whatsoever. The silence comes after CBS News has declined public comment on the ordeal despite widespread calls for transparency.
CBS ’60 MINUTES’ AIRS TWO DIFFERENT ANSWERS FROM VP HARRIS TO THE SAME QUESTION
Harris was mocked by conservatives when footage of an unflattering answer she gave when Bill Whitaker asked why it seemed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t listening to the U.S. was aired by CBS ahead of the primetime showing of the “60 Minutes” interview.
However, the vice president’s lengthy answer didn’t make the final version and a shorter, more focused answer to the same question was shown instead. It appeared to be two different parts of one lengthy Harris response, but critics of CBS have pointed out that Americans will never know for sure without seeing the unedited transcript.
Conservative Media Research Center founder Brent Bozell said last week that the “only way to clear this up is to release the full video and identify who was responsible.”
The Trump campaign called for CBS to release the full interview unedited.
“On Sunday, 60 Minutes teased Kamala’s highly-anticipated sit-down interview with one of her worst word salads to date, which received significant criticism on social media. During the full interview on Monday evening, the word salad was deceptively edited to lessen Kamala’s idiotic response,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
PRESSURE MOUNTS ON CBS NEWS TO RELEASE FULL KAMALA HARRIS INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
“Why did 60 Minutes choose not to air Kamala’s full word salad, and what else did they choose not to air? The American people deserve the full, unedited transcript from Kamala’s sit-down interview,” she continued. “We call upon 60 Minutes and CBS to release it. What do they, and Kamala, have to hide?”
Trump even called for CBS to lose its license over “election interference.”
The Harris campaign has distanced itself from any notion that it asked for the edit and told reporters to direct any questions to CBS.
CBS News did not respond to a request for comment.
The New York Post editorial board also demanded “60 Minutes” release the full transcript of the interview.
“With even the Harris-Walz campaign disavowing CBS’ hack editing job of Bill Whitaker’s interview with the Democratic nominee, the network’s only hope of regaining any credibility is to release the full transcript,” the editors wrote.
“Given how awful Harris looked even after CBS chose to deceive its viewers, this may well be the last serious interview she does before Election Day: The network has a clear duty to the public to share the whole thing,” the New York Post editorial continued.
CBS NEWS IN TURMOIL AS MULTIPLE CONTROVERSIES ERUPT AT THE NETWORK
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., also weighed in on the interview and said that the idea that the interview may have been “edited in a favorable way” needed to be addressed.
“Totally agree that Vice President Kamala Harris’ 60 Minutes interview transcript should be released in its entirety. The transcript will speak for itself and there is no reason not to clear the air,” Graham added.
OutKick’s Riley Gaines said, “If you’re someone who doesn’t think CBS should release the unedited transcript, then you are the problem.”
“The fact that CBS @60Minutes is refusing to release the full, unedited transcript of its interview with Kamala Harris is a huge scandal. Suggests that much of the entire finished product was manipulative and deceitful, and not just the one horrible example that was discovered,” The Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway wrote on social media.
“CBS should release the transcript… admit to the editing… and attempt to rehabilitate itself,” sportscaster Michele Tafoya wrote.
Fox News Digital’s Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
