Kamala Harris' presidential campaign is fighting to distance itself from CBS News' controversial move to air edited responses to questions she asked in a “60 Minutes” interview that aired this week. are.
In Sunday's preview of CBS' “Face the Nation,” the vice president meandered into correspondent Bill Whitaker's question about how much control the United States has over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I gave the answer.
But when the “60 Minutes” special aired on Monday, that answer was edited into a shorter, more assertive version as CBS executives tried to cover up a long and complicated “word salad” from Harris. The question arose as to whether this was the case.
Now, Harris' campaign is trying to remove itself from the debate.
A Harris campaign aide told multiple media outlets, including Fox News and Variety, “We do not control CBS' production decisions and we leave all questions to CBS.''
The Harris campaign and CBS News did not immediately respond to The Post's requests for comment.
In the original preview, Whitaker asked Harris whether the United States had any “influence” over Netanyahu.
“The assistance we gave Israel has enabled it to protect itself from 200 ballistic missiles intended to attack Israelis and Israeli citizens, and to protect itself from the threat posed by Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. When I think about it, I think there's no question that it's our responsibility to do everything we can to help Israel protect itself from that kind of attack,” Harris said.
“The work that we are currently doing diplomatically with the Israeli leadership is making clear our principles, including the need for humanitarian aid, the need to end this war, and the need to reach agreements that lead to liberation. “Our ongoing pursuit is centered around “freeing the hostages and establishing a ceasefire,'' Harris continued.
“And we will not stop in terms of putting pressure on the region, including on Israeli and Arab leaders.”
But when the prime-time “60 Minutes” special aired, Harris' four drawn-out sentences were condensed into a short, one-sentence answer.
“The work we are doing diplomatically with the Israeli leadership is a continued pursuit of articulating our principles,” Harris said on the prime-time show.
Harris' answer at a preview screening of “Face the Nation” was similarly ambiguous, when Whitaker pressed her and said Netanyahu didn't seem to be listening.
“Bill, as a result of the work we've done, a number of Israeli movements in the region have arisen. These movements have given rise to our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region. “It was very much prompted by or a result of a number of things, including,” Harris said.
Unlike the first editorial change, which simply cut out her long answers, this prime-time interview included a completely different answer from the Democratic candidate.
“We're not going to stop pursuing what it takes to clarify where the United States stands on the need to end this war,” Harris said on her prime-time show.
Critics say the edits are a stumbling block on the network's part and an attempt to influence public opinion in favor of Harris.
Former President Donald Trump's campaign has asked CBS News to release an “unedited transcript” of the entire interview.
“The word salad was deceptively edited to soften Mr. Kamala's foolish response,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said in a statement. “Why did '60 Minutes' choose not to air Kamala's full text salad? And what else did it choose not to air? You have the right to receive accurate records.”
CBS has not commented directly on the editorial controversy.
During a broadcast of “60 Minutes,” correspondent Scott Pelley said that Trump had withdrawn from a scheduled interview after the Trump campaign complained that the network wanted to fact-check the interview. insisted.
“We fact-check every story,” Perry said.
President Trump's spokesman Stephen Chan previously said there was “nothing planned or agreed upon.”
Harris' interview will be the first since the 1960s, when neither presidential candidate appeared on “60 Minutes” in October.
