According to reports, President Donald Trump is in talks with CBS News about a potential interview for “60 Minutes.” This comes after he previously sued the show over a segment featuring Kamala Harris, alleging that the interview was edited in a misleading way.
As per the Semafor news site, the White House has requested that CBS refrain from recording interviews with Trump.
Bill Whitaker, the “60 Minutes” correspondent who conducted the interview with Harris, indicated that he would oversee Trump’s segment, especially after the company, Paramount, agreed to pay $16 million to settle the lawsuit.
Last Friday, while Trump was in New York for the UN General Assembly and the Ryder Cup, White House officials discussed the arrangement. However, according to Semafor, the timeline had to be adjusted due to Trump’s busy schedule.
The White House, CBS News, and Paramount Skydance have been approached for comments regarding this matter.
In a significant corporate shift at CBS News, newly appointed head David Ellison is making notable editorial changes.
Ellison is expected to appoint Bari Weiss, the founder of Free Press, as the new editor of CBS News. Moreover, Paramount is set to acquire Weiss’s news site for an estimated $150 million in cash and stock options.
Last year, Trump filed a lawsuit against CBS following an interview where Kamala Harris was involved — a situation that stirred controversy given her Democratic affiliation.
The crux of the issue was the editing of the broadcast, where Harris appeared to give differing responses during her interviews on “60 Minutes” and “Face the Nation,” raising questions about the consistency of her answers about Israel.
Trump argued that CBS aimed to portray Harris in a more favorable light. The network, however, dismissed the claims, stating they lacked merit, which many legal experts have also supported.
Still, the Trump-appointed head of the Federal Communications Commission has initiated an investigation. This is a part of the broader framework as Paramount seeks administrative approval for its merger with Skydance Media.
In August, the merger, valued at $8 billion, was officially completed, marking the end of Shari Redstone’s role as a shareholder in Paramount’s parent company, National Amusements.
With post wire
