CBS News remained mum Wednesday amid mounting pressure to release the full transcript of Kamala Harris’ interview with “60 Minutes” — even as a former correspondent said there’s “precedent” for the network doing so when it came to Donald Trump.
Ex-CBS News reporter Catherine Herridge — who was laid off earlier this year as she investigated the Hunter Biden laptop scandal — said the network released the full, unedited transcript of her interview with Trump when he was president in 2020.
The Republican presidential candidate has demanded CBS News publish the full interview with Harris after accusations that the Tiffany Network edited her “word salad” answers during the sit-down with Bill Whitaker.
“As Trump campaign calls on @60Minutes to release ‘full, unedited transcript’ of Kamala Harris interview… There is precedent,” Herridge posted on X on Wednesday.
“When I interviewed then President Trump in July 2020. @CBSNews we posted the interview transcript. This is more complete and NOT the same as a transcript of the edited TV report.”
The award-winning journalist provided the link to the unedited interview on CBS News in which she grilled Trump on hot-topic issues like the COVID vaccine.
“It’s about transparency and standing behind the integrity of the final edit,” Herridge said.
A source close to the network said Herridge had pushed for the publication of her full transcript at the time and that it was a “special case.”
CBS News declined to comment.
A spokesperson also did not reply to repeated calls and emails about whether it would release the unedited “60 Minutes” transcript from The Post.
The controversy continued to swirl after a truncated version of the Democratic presidential candidate’s response to a question from Whitaker about Israel was broadcast on the “60 Minutes” episode on Monday.
Harris’ reply stood in contrast to her stammering longer answer that was aired as a promo for the interview on “Face The Nation” on Sunday morning.
Whitaker quizzed Harris about the Biden-Harris administration’s relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
When Whitaker noted that “it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening” to the administration’s calls for restraint in Israel’s military actions, the vice president spoke in fits and starts, appearing unsure of what she was trying to convey.
“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 said in the clip shared by “60 Minutes” on X over the weekend.
That same clip aired on “Face The Nation.”
But the “60 Minutes” edition that was broadcast in primetime did not include the full answer.
Instead, viewers who tuned in to the primetime special saw a much-more erudite answer from Harris: “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.”
CBS also did not include the unedited version in its YouTube upload of the “60 Minutes” segment with Harris. The original answer also could not be found in the transcript of the interview that was posted to CBS News’ official website.
The Trump campaign has accused CBS of deceptive editing.
“On Sunday, ’60 Minutes’ teased Kamala’s highly-anticipated sit-down interview with this epic word salad that received significant criticism on social media,” Trump 2024 national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Post.
“During the full interview on Monday evening, the word salad was deceptively edited to lessen Kamala’s idiotic response.”
Others on social media accused CBS of splicing the interview to edit out Harris’ “word salad” answer in order to make the candidate appear more eloquent and decisive.
The Post has sought comment from Harris.
Broadcast shows including “60 Minutes” often edit interviews due to time constraints, however, it is unclear if the clip was edited down for that reason or if the network fielded complaints.
Normally, shows will also tease the interviews by having other programs on the network air soundbites that may have been left on the cutting room floor of the original broadcast — a longstanding practice in television journalism.
However, a CBS insider said that the network should just be transparent in this case amid mounting questions.
“You have a responsibility when you interview a president or vice president to make the transcript available to everyone,” the source said.
The insider said that it isn’t clear if the answer Harris gave in the “60 Minutes” interview was taken from another part of the interview or if it was merely spliced for clarity. If it’s the former, the source said it may suggest the network was trying to help Harris.
It is also entirely possible that this is simply an example of miscommunication between the department that edits promotions at CBS and “60 Minutes.”
“This could be a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing,” the source added.
Additional reporting by Victor Nava
