After avoiding journalists for a long period of time, Kamala Harris was due to stand up a few weeks before the election, but her appearances were not particularly successful.
Now it turns out that the reality is actually worse than what was shown on TV. The revelation that 60 Minutes embellished Harris’ word salad proves that Trump is right when he accuses the media of «fake news», writes The Times‘ US editor David Charter.
Donald Trump’s campaign is demanding that CBS News release the full transcript of Kamala Harris’s flagship 60 Minutes interview, after editing out a “word salad” response and replacing it with a more pointed one.
60 Minutes has previously been accused of anti-conservative bias. It refused to air a statement from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis following allegations that he colluded with a supermarket chain to distribute COVID-19 vaccines because the chain had donated to his campaign.
In the interview, Bill Whitaker questioned whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was listening to the Biden administration. On the TV broadcast, we saw the following response:
– 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.
It sounded like a powerful call for a ceasefire. But in a trailer posted on the 60 Minutes website, Harris’s response is more distorted and circuitous:
– 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.
60 Minutes removed Kamala’s word salad in the latest version. 1984 is here.
– End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) October 8, 2024
Since Harris has earned a reputation for making meaningless responses consisting of pure «word salad», the CBS News edit is a gift to Trump.
It’s hard to find more blatant evidence that so-called liberal media are doing everything they can to portray the Democratic presidential candidate in the best possible light, says Charter.
Trump’s team is quick to capitalise on the gaffe.
– During the full interview on Monday evening, the word salad was deceptively edited to lessen Kamala’s idiotic response, says Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s national press secretary.
– 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. We call upon 60 Minutes and CBS to release it. What do they, and Kamala, have to hide?
Despite the editing by 60 Minutes, Harris’s interview has been poorly received, and this is just one example of the gaffes the media thought she delivered.
CBS News has not responded to questions from The Times about why they aired the more succinct response.
