“60 Minutes” is in hot water again.
The longtime news program has been at the center of controversy in recent days for editing unflattering exchanges between Vice President Kamala Harris and veteran correspondent Bill Whitaker. The exchange aired in a preview clip of “Face the Nation” on Sunday, but was moved to Monday's prime-time election special. .
Harris was mocked by conservatives for offering a lengthy “word salad” when asked why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't seem to be listening to the United States.
“Bill, as a result of the work that we have done, many Israeli movements in the region have emerged, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region. It was very much prompted by or a result of a lot of things,” Harris responded in Sunday’s “Face the Nation” clip.
CBS' “60 Minutes'' will air Vice President Harris' two different answers to the same question
“60 Minutes'' edited out correspondent Bill Whitaker's exchange with Vice President Kamala Harris during its primetime election special after airing unflattering comments made by Democratic candidates in preview footage. . (Screenshot/CBS News)
But the vice president's shorter, more focused answer to the same question came Monday night.
“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 the prime-time special.
The two different answers appear to have been part of the same longer answer, but CBS has not provided an answer to this discrepancy.
CBS News is under increasing pressure to release the full transcript of Harris' interview to explain the discrepancies. Meanwhile, former President Trump has called for the station's broadcast license to be revoked, and former CBS staffers are calling for an outside investigation to look into the controversy.
It's a new controversy and condemnation of the venerable show's liberal bias in recent years.
Leslie Stahl dismissed Hunter Biden's laptop scandal in 2020
In the final days leading up to the 2020 election, then-President Trump sparred with “60 Minutes” veteran Leslie Stahl over the Hunter Biden laptop scandal just exposed by the New York Post. What he did is famous.
President Trump claimed at the time that candidate Joe Biden was “in the middle of a scandal.”
“Not really,” Stahl replied happily.
“Of course I do, Leslie,” Trump retorted sternly.
“No, come on,” Stahl continued to reject the president's claims, preaching, “This is 60 Minutes, and you can't air something you can't verify.”
CBS News eventually followed, Examined the infamous laptop In 2022.
At the time, the laptop and its contents were widely denounced in the media as part of a Russian disinformation campaign, and the New York Post article was even blocked from being shared on Twitter.
Two years after New York Post report, CBS tars and feathers for admitting existence of Hunter Biden's laptop
Veteran CBS News correspondent Leslie Stahl famously said during her “60 Minutes” interview with then-President Trump that she couldn't see Hunter Biden's laptop. (Screenshot/CBS News)
Scott Perry slams Trump administration's 'debunked' Wuhan lab leak theory
In May 2020, 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley cast serious doubt on the Trump administration's claim that the coronavirus pandemic stemmed from a lab leak in Wuhan, China.
At the time, Perry told viewers that “neither the White House nor the Chinese Communist Party has been honest,” and instead told Peter Peter, the president of the group EcoHealth Alliance and one of the lab leak's most vocal opponents. Daszak's credibility was exaggerated. theory. EcoHealth Alliance receives government funding from the National Institutes of Health and has a long-standing collaboration with the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), which is increasingly being seen as a possible source of the devastating pandemic. .
Perry lamented the Trump administration's sudden decision to cut off funding to EcoHealth, citing a “political disinformation campaign targeting China's Wuhan lab.”
“While the United States leads the world in disease and death, the White House has shifted its focus to the Chinese government,” Perry told viewers, criticizing the Trump administration. “Last Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attempted to revive the debunked theory that the virus was man-made in China. I haven’t.”
Confidence crisis: '60 minutes' tries to turn back the clock after declaring coronavirus lab leak theory 'false'
“60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Perry was quick to claim that the coronavirus lab leak theory in May 2020 had been “debunked.” (Screenshot/CBS News)
A “60 Minutes'' correspondent pushed the idea that the virus originated from a wet market and turned to another expert who suggested the virus arose naturally from pangolins.
“There is absolutely no evidence that this virus came out of a Chinese lab,” Daszak insisted.
“To your knowledge, does the Wuhan Institute of Virology have this virus in stock?” Perry asked.
“No,” Daszak answered.
“Why do you say that?” Perry followed.
“There is no evidence that anyone had SARS-CoV 2 in any lab anywhere in the world before the outbreak, because the closest known relatives are sufficiently different that it is not SARS-CoV 2.” replied Mr. Daszak.
CBS News said the report was based on facts known at the time. But fast forward to March 2021, and Perry's colleague Leslie Stahl declared that a possible lab leak was the “leading theory” for the origins of the pandemic.
Notably, Perry was selected to be interviewed on Trump's “60 Minutes'' special before the former president decided to skip the sit-in altogether.
'60 Minutes' spread false 'pay to play' theory against DeSantis
In April 2021, “60 Minutes” spread a false report that Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was involved in a “pay-for-play” scheme surrounding the coronavirus vaccine.
A preview video released prior to the airing of the full report showed an interview with “60 Minutes'' about allegations that Publix, a southern supermarket chain with more than 850 stores in Florida, paid people after producing a coronavirus vaccine. ” correspondent Sharin Alfonsi is shown confronting the governor at a press conference. large donations to his PAC;
“As you know, Publix has donated $100,000 to your campaign,” Alfonsi began in the clip. “And you gave them exclusive rights to distribute vaccines in Palm Beach –“
“First of all, what you're saying is wrong,” DeSantis interrupted.
“Why aren't we getting paid for playing?'' Alfonsi then asked.
“That's a false narrative,” DeSantis responded. “I met with the county mayor, I met with the administrator, I met with all the people of Palm Beach County and said, 'Here are some options. We can create more drive-thru sites, we can donate more to hospitals. 'We can do Publix.' And they said, 'We think that's the easiest thing for residents to do.'
CBS' “60 Minutes'' Allegedly Edited Interactions Between Desantis, Reporter Forces Narration of “Pay to Play''
Alfonsi then narrated that Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinley claimed that DeSantis “never met with her about the Publix contract.”
“The criticism here is that it's a reward for playing, Governor,” Alfonsi told DeSantis.
“That's wrong, that's wrong,” the governor retorted. “This is a false narrative. I just ignored that narrative for you. And you don't care about the facts, because obviously I've irrefutably laid it out for you. Because I explained it to you.”
“60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi clashed with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over “play-for-play” accusations the CBS News show pushed in 2021. (Screenshot/CBS News)
However, the CBS show described the governor's response to Alfonsi as CVS and Walgreens were the first chains to receive vaccines during the rollout in senior communities and long-term care facilities, and Publix was the first chain to receive vaccines. Several minutes of the comments were cut out and the exchange heavily edited. We are volunteering to distribute vaccines at our stores. DeSantis also told Alfonsi that CVS and Walgreens will also administer the vaccine once the mission to vaccinate Florida's seniors is complete.
Despite the backlash the “60 Minutes'' preview clip sparked on social media, the exchange remained edited out during Sunday's broadcast, and was made between the Harris interview preview clip and the primetime broadcast. It was very different from the previous edit.
Democratic state officials, conservative pundits, Publix and DeSantis himself all rejected the story pushed by “60 Minutes.”
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A CBS spokesperson initially told FOX News Digital about the edited exchange: “As we always do for clarity, 60 Minutes does not include any of the governor's more than two-minute responses. I used the part that directly addressed the question from the author.” CBS News repeatedly defended its reporting but never addressed criticism of its “pay-for-play” push.
CBS did not respond to requests for comment.
