In a recent chat with “60 Minutes,” President Trump took a moment to highlight the $16 million settlement from CBS News’ parent company, although this part of the discussion didn’t make it to the televised segment on Sunday.
He remarked, “The fact is, ’60 Minutes’ paid me a lot of money, and I don’t have to wear this because I don’t want to embarrass you,” during a session with reporter Norah O’Donnell at Mar-a-Lago.
While those remarks were excluded from the televised version, they did appear in an additional segment called “Overtime,” shared on CBS’s YouTube channel.
Trump also lauded the new leadership at CBS News, singling out Bari Weiss, co-founder of the Free Press Newsletter, who was appointed as editor-in-chief. These comments also didn’t air.
He acknowledged Weiss, saying, “You’ve got a great leader – she’s a great person, as far as I know,” referring to her pro-Israel stance and anti-woke perspectives.
The former president continued, “60 Minutes had to pay me a lot of money because they covered her provocative, election-influencing comment just two nights before the election.”
Trump referenced an interview from October 2024 with Kamala Harris, alleging her responses were edited misleadingly.
He explained, “They gave me a new answer, and they compensated me well for it. There shouldn’t be fake news; it should be legitimate news.”
Later, he mentioned his lawsuit against CBS and its then-parent company, Paramount Global, suggesting he chose to seek a settlement instead of pursuing a traditional lawsuit.
This settlement incited backlash, especially as Paramount Global sought regulatory approval to merge with Skydance, helmed by David Ellison, the son of Trump supporter Larry Ellison.
A few weeks post-settlement, the merger was approved, and one of Ellison’s initial actions was to appoint Weiss at CBS News, who reportedly sold his Free Press platform to the new entity for $150 million.
Since her arrival at CBS, Weiss has taken charge, even directly questioning a “60 Minutes” producer on why many Americans see the show as biased.
She has also booked notable guests for “60 Minutes,” including Hillary Clinton, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Trump advisors like Jared Kushner.
However, her first weeks met resistance from staff, with some describing the environment as turbulent, as there were concerns about potential pushback against changes she aimed to implement.
Another omitted part of the interview involved a heated moment between Trump and O’Donnell about pardoning Changpeng “CZ” Chao, the Binance founder.
O’Donnell challenged Trump on the optics of potential favoritism in the pardon, asking, “How do you deal with the appearance of being paid to play?”
Trump responded, expressing irritation and distancing himself from Chao, mentioning only hearing about his brief prison sentence, framing it as a partisan issue.
“I want to focus on cryptocurrencies; if we ignore it, we risk it all going to China,” he said. “This is as crucial as AI.”
Clearly frustrated, he recounted the interaction with O’Donnell regarding additional questions.
Additionally, inquiries have been made to Biden, Binance, CBS News, Paramount Skydance, and the White House for their reactions.
