Former President Donald Trump, railing about the editing by CBS News during its interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, insisted Thursday that the network’s longtime news centerpiece program is guilty of “election interference” and should be taken off the air “immediately.”
His comments on Truth Social were posted with a link to a Fox News story detailing a formal complaint filed by the Center for American Rights to the Federal Communications Commission Wednesday that accuses CBS News of “significant and intentional news distortion.”
“CBS SHOULD LOSE ITS LICENSE. THIS IS THE BIGGEST SCANDAL IN BROADCAST HISTORY,” Trump posted. “Kamala should be investigated and forced off the Campaign, and Joe Biden allowed to take back his rightful place (He got 14 Million Primary Votes, she got none!). THIS WHOLE SORDID AND FRAUDULENT EVENT IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY!”
In its complaint, CAR argued that the discrepancies between Harris’ answer to a question, as shown in a promotion for the interview, and the answer that was shown on “60 Minutes” violated FCC rules on broadcasters’ public interest obligations and “amount to deliberate news distortion.”
CAR further insisted that the unedited transcript of the Harris interview be released, echoing calls from Trump and others.
“This isn’t just about one interview or one network,” CAR President Daniel Suhr said. “This is about the public’s trust in the media on critical issues of national security and international relations during one of the most consequential elections of our time.”
And when “broadcasters manipulate interviews and distort reality, it undermines democracy itself,” Suhr added. “The FCC must act swiftly to restore public confidence in our news media.”
CAR’s complaint also cites FCC precedent that says broadcasters “may not engage in intentional falsification or suppression of news and called on the FCC to direct CBS to release the full transcript.
A clip of the interview that was released online and on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Oct. 6 included a lengthy answer to interviewer Bill Whitaker’s question about whether the United States has “sway” over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But in the version airing on “60 Minutes” and on CBS News’ online transcript of the interview, Harris’ answer was edited down to just a few sentences.
The Harris campaign has distanced itself from the controversy, directing questions to CBS.
CBS said Trump opted out of an interview on the program out of concerns over fact-checking, but Trump spokesman Steven Cheung insisted “there was nothing scheduled or agreed upon” when it came to an appearance.
