The ‘60 minutes’ program on CBS has broadcast two different answers to the same question from US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris.
During the segment, interviewer Bill Whitaker asked Harris if she believed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not listening to the US amid an escalation in the Middle East.
The vice president’s reply to that question was not the same in the preview that aired on Sunday as it was in the actual show that was broadcast on Monday.
In the preview, which was shown as part of the ‘Face the Nation’ program, Harris said:
“Well Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by, or a result of, many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region.”
However, when the actual ‘60 minutes’ episode aired the next day, the Democratic presidential nominee’s answer was changed to a completely different one, which was shorter and more clear.
“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,” Harris said during the program.
On Tuesday, the campaign of former US president and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump urged CBS and the producers of ‘60 minutes’ to release the full interview with Harris.
“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 spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, said.
"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... What do they, and Kamala, have to hide?” Leavitt insisted.
The Harris campaign insisted that it had nothing to do with the changes made to her interview. “We do not control CBS’s production decisions and refer questions to CBS,” a campaign aide told several outlets, including Fox News and Variety.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Thursday, accusing ‘60 minutes’ of replacing Harris’ answer with another in order to “make her look better,” and labelling CBS itself a “a giant Fake News Scam.”
“CBS should lose its license, and it should be bid out to the Highest Bidder, as should all other Broadcast Licenses, because they are just as corrupt as CBS – and maybe even WORSE!” he wrote.