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Kamala Harris’s campaign has distanced itself from questions over her 60 Minutes interview after Donald Trump baselessly accused the network of committing a crime with its production of her interview.
Right-wing critics on social media posted side-by-side clips of her preview of her interview — in which Harris delivered a lengthy response to 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker on whether the US lacks influence over Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — next to the same segment in the final broadcast that aired October 7.
The Republican presidential candidate shared the clips on his Truth Social on Thursday, raging against what he called a “giant Fake News Scam” by the network, and launched a conspiracy theory that “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,” he said. “TAKE AWAY THE CBS LICENSE. Election Interference. 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!”
The Harris campaign stressed it was not involved in editorial decisions made by networks.
“We do not control CBS’s production decisions and refer questions to CBS,” a spokesperson said in a statement to Variety. The Independent has requested comment from a spokesperson from CBS and 60 Minutes.
Trump has repeatedly called for major broadcasters to be pulled off the air if he dislikes their coverage or publish damning stories about him or his campaign.
He also backed out of his own 60 Minutes appearance entirely. Anchor Scott Pelley told viewers on Monday night’s broadcast that Trump’s campaign “complained that we would fact-check the interview.”
“We fact-check every story,” Pelley said.
Trump’s exit marks the first general election year since 1968 in which both presidential candidates did not appear on 60 Minutes in October.
In a teaser of her appearance, Harris was asked if the US “has no sway over Prime Minister Netanyahu.”
“The aid that we have given Israel allowed Israel to defend itself against 200 ballistic missiles that were just meant to attack the Israelis and the people of Israel,” she said in response, according to the clip. “And when we think about the threat that Hamas, Hezbollah presents, Iran, I think that it is without any question our imperative to do what we can to allow Israel to defend itself against those kinds of attacks.”
She continued: “Now the work that we do diplomatically with the leadership of Israel is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles, which include the need for humanitarian aid, the need for this war to end, the need for a deal to be done which would release the hostages and create a ceasefire. And we’re not going to stop in terms of putting that pressure on Israel and in the region, including Arab leaders.”
Whitaker then says that “it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening.”
“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,” she replied.
On the October 7 broadcast, this was Harris’s response to Whitaker’s question about the US having any “sway” over Netanyahu:
“The work that we do diplomatically with the leadership of Israel is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles.”
When Whitaker says “it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening,” Harris replies: “We are not gonna stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.”
