The Network Heavily Edits Trump's TV Program Interview, Removing Claim About Broadcaster Compensating The President Large Funds

The CBS News program the long-running news magazine heavily trimmed a conversation featuring Donald Trump broadcast on Sunday evening, marking his first one-on-one with the program since 2019.

Trump spoke alongside journalist the CBS anchor for 90 minutes, yet merely about half an hour were broadcast. A complete text version of the interview was later published, alongside a 73-minute digital cut from the interview.

The edits are notable because, precisely 12 months prior to Trump's appearance with O’Donnell at his Mar-a-Lago resort, he filed suit against CBS over the editing from another news program segment with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, claiming it was manipulated to help her campaign during the race.

While many legal experts largely rejected the legal action as “meritless” and improbable to succeed under the first amendment, the broadcaster settled with the president for millions in July. Under the agreement, the network had agreed that it would publish full records of future interviews with candidates.

During the opening of Sunday’s show, the correspondent reminded viewers that the parent company settled the legal dispute, adding that the resolution did not include any admission or expression of regret”.

During the interview, in a clip that did not air, the president needled CBS over the settlement and repeated his allegations toward the broadcaster.

“In fact the program paid me a lotta money. You need not include this, because I don’t wanna embarrass you, and I’m sure you’re not,” the president stated. “But the show was forced to compensate me a large amount because they took her answer out which was damaging, it was decisive, two nights before the election. They inserted a new answer in. They compensated me a lot of money for that. We cannot tolerate fake news. You’ve gotta have truthful journalism. I believe this is occurring.”

In a separate segment not broadcast from the discussion, Trump commended the sale of the network to the Ellison family and said the network’s new editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, was a “great new leader”.

The US president said he didn’t know Weiss, yet informed the interviewer: “I hear she’s a great person.

“In my view you have a talented director, frankly, who’s the young woman now heading your whole enterprise, is a great – from what I know,” he said.

Trump was especially effusive in praising David Ellison and his father, Larry Ellison, the recent purchaser of CBS News’ parent company, Paramount Global, through their company Skydance.

“In my opinion a very positive development recently is this show and new ownership, the network under new management,” the president said. “I think it’s the greatest thing that has occurred for years toward a transparent and good press.”

The correspondent offered no direct reply to the president’s comments concerning the editor and the owners.

Among the president's responses that were edited out were several comments doubting the integrity of the last election, which he described “had been manipulated and unlawfully taken”.

At one point in the conversation, in a part that was not aired, the president tried to get O’Donnell to acknowledge that crime was down in Washington DC, her place of residence.

“You live here. You know that too,” the president remarked, inquiring of the correspondent: “Do you see any change?”

“I think I have been occupied excessively,” she responded. “I haven’t been outside often … I drive and go to work and I go home.”

Trump responded “that’s not a fair answer” maintaining that O’Donnell noticed an improvement.

The president then seemed to suggest that the exchange need not to be aired in the program.

“You don’t have to use that one,” he noted. “No concerns, don’t worry, I don’t want to cause her embarrassment.”