Trump demands CBS is taken off air after editing Kamala Harris' 60 Minutes 'word salad'

Donald Trump insists that CBS News should lose its license and be forced off air after it favorably edited the 60 Minutes interview Vice President Kamala Harris.

The former president is furious that the network posted to its YouTube a version of an interview with Harris that edited out her 'word salad' answer on the Israel-Hamas war that was widely criticized on social media when the episode originally aired on TV on Monday.

Trump's son Eric also weighed in on the edited clip, writing on X: 'How is this legal? The mainstream media in this country is seriously corrupt and broken.' 

Thursday isn't the first time that Trump has demanded a news network be taken off air.

After the September 10 debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, the former president called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revoke ABC News' license for its moderating style, which included fact-checking him in real time.

'The First Amendment is a cornerstone of our democracy. The Commission does not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage,' FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said.

The FCC is a federal agency that issues licenses to individual broadcast stations and renews them every eight years.

When reviewing licenses, the FCC determines if renewal is in public interest.

Courts have consistently upheld that the First Amendment prohibits the FCC from stripping a channel's license based on its editorial decisions.

'A giant Fake News Scam by CBS & 60 Minutes,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday. 'Her REAL ANSWER WAS CRAZY, OR DUMB, so they actually REPLACED it with another answer in order to save her or, at least, make her look better. A FAKE NEWS SCAM, which is totally illegal.

'TAKE AWAY THE CBS LICENSE,' he demanded in all caps, adding: 'Election Interference.'

The ranting continued: 'She is a Moron, and the Fake News Media wants to hide that fact. An UNPRECEDENTED SCANDAL!!! The Dems got them to do this and should be forced to concede the Election? WOW!'

Trump's campaign demanded CBS release the full, unedited transcript of its 60 Minutes interview.

'If 60 Minutes had an ounce of integrity, they would release the full, unedited interview,' Trump's running mate Sen. J.D. Vance wrote on X.

'The person who can't answer basic questions about national security wants to be our next president. Show us what she actually said, in full.'

He accused the network of trying to make his Democratic competitor look 'more presidential' and said their action favorably editing the 2024 hopeful is a 'campaign finance violation.'

The 60 Minutes interview was part of Harris' media blitz before Election Day aired Monday night and the network put the episode on the show's official YouTube page.

But X users were quick to point out that at least one question was edited to alter her answer in the YouTube version.

Trump said that CBS News owes the public an apology.  

CBS News and its parent company Paramount Global did not respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com regarding the decision-making behind the edited clip.

Trump National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a Tuesday night statement: '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?' she added.

She called Harris' response to 60 Minutes host Bill Whitaker 'idiotic.'

Host Bill Whitaker asked Harris about whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was listening to the U.S. and whether the administration had any sway over the Jewish State's decision making in its conflict with Hamas terrorists operating out of Gaza.

'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,' Harris replied.

Her answer was riddled with long pauses and hesitant wording.

Social media erupted with conservatives who were not pleased with the non answer and were vocal about their criticism of the VP's 'word salad' on X.

One user asked someone to 'interpret' her answer for them.

But after the episode aired on 60 Minutes on Monday night, the version that was put onto the show's YouTube did not include Harris' nonsensical answer and instead included a more truncated, straight-forward and surefooted 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,' Harris says in the edited response to Whitaker.

Pro-MAGA accounts and conservative people on X were quick to point out the change.

'I've never seen this before,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday, 'but the producers of 60 Minutes sliced and diced ('cut and pasted') Lyin' Kamala's answers to questions, which were virtually incoherent… to make her look 'more Presidential,' or a least, better.'

'It may also be a major Campaign Finance Violation,' he claimed.

'This is a stain on the reputation of 60 Minutes that is not recoverable - It will always remain with this once storied brand. I have never heard of such a thing being done in 'News.' It is the very definition of FAKE NEWS! The public is owed a MAJOR AND IMMEDIATE APOLOGY! This is an open and shut case, and must be investigated, starting today!' 

The interview aired Monday – the same day that marked the one-year anniversary of the start of the Middle Eastern conflict after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and carried out the largest single-day massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust.

In the aftermath of the backlash for her response to 60 Minutes, it appears that CBS News decided to edit the vice president's answer.

Harris' media strategy has remained largely clear of sit-down interviews with television networks and has leaned more towards nontraditional avenues – such as speaking with raunchy, sex-focused Call Her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper.

The 60 Minutes interview was one of her few long form sit-downs with a legacy television network.