President Donald Trump has called for CBS to be shut down after the network released the full 60 Minutes interview they conducted with Vice President Kamala Harris.
When the interview first aired in October, Trump and his supporters quickly accused CBS of manipulating and editing the footage to present Vice President Kamala Harris in a more favorable light.
After a lawsuit and an FCC complaint, CBS released the full, unedited interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, which Trump and his supporters had long demanded. While many found no issues with the unedited footage, Trump and his loyalists were quick to accuse CBS of fraud. Trump took to Truth Social, calling the release a “major scandal.” He claimed that CBS and 60 Minutes “defrauded the public” by editing Harris’ responses to make her appear more favorable, accusing the network of replacing her “horrible” answers with more polished ones from another part of the interview.
Trump went further, insisting that the edited interview had an impact on the election, claiming it was “election-changing” and amounted to “election interference” and “fraud.” Despite losing the 2024 presidential race to Trump, he argued that CBS’ actions had unfairly helped Harris. In a bold statement, Trump suggested that CBS should lose its license, calling for the removal of the “cheaters” at 60 Minutes and the immediate cancellation of the show.
While networks like CBS don’t hold individual broadcast licenses (only TV stations do), Trump’s remarks resonated with his base, linking the issue to wider conservative frustrations. He referenced an unfounded conspiracy theory about USAID paying media outlets like Politico, speculating that CBS may have been financially incentivized to alter the interview in Harris’ favor. “This will go down as the biggest broadcasting scandal in history,” he declared, as the controversy continued to swirl on social media.
CBS has firmly rejected Trump’s claims about the edited footage, maintaining that the cuts were purely for time constraints and not intended to deceive. In a statement, the network defended 60 Minutes, emphasizing that the full, unedited interview aligns with their previous assurances to the public. According to CBS, the broadcast was neither “doctored nor deceitful.”
As the controversy lingers, the question remains whether any action will be taken against CBS under Trump’s administration. With Brendan Carr, Trump’s appointed FCC chairman, already signaling intentions to target CBS, the network may soon find itself under further scrutiny. If Trump continues to push Carr, it’s possible CBS could face significant pressure moving forward.
