New Video Shows CBS Deceptively Edited Kamala Harris Interview

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ordered that CBS News release the entire “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, which the network withheld during the campaign. On Wednesday, no one was shocked to learn what everyone knew all along: CBS deceptively edited the interview to help the Harris campaign with her comically poor ability to answer questions coherently.

During the 2024 presidential campaign, CBS released only 20 minutes of a nearly hour-long interview with Harris. While calls to release the entire interview went unanswered at the time, the full video shows that CBS not only spliced her answer on American-Israeli relations in favor of Harris — the initial video that landed the outlet in hot water — but hid other key moments displaying her incapability.

“The video proves beyond a reasonable doubt that CBS News lied to the American people when they claimed they didn’t edit anything out of the video,” Nicholas Fondacaro, associate editor with MRC NewsBusters, told The Federalist. “It’s now confirmed that not only did they clean up Kamala’s word salad answers for the 60 Minutes airing, they also edited one of Whitaker’s questions because it called out the administration for getting ‘blindsided’ and ‘rebuffed’ on the international stage. Essentially, things that wouldn’t sit well with American voters ahead of what was thought to be a very tight election.”

The release of the full transcript and video interview comes after Trump sued CBS for “deceptive doctoring” of the video, which many said at the time was done essentially as a contribution to the Harris campaign. The Center for American Rights, a right-leaning law firm, also filed a complaint with the FCC to get the full interview released.

Trump-appointed FCC chair Brendan Carr obtained the full versions after pressuring CBS, which had consistently defended its decision to withhold the full versions. After the cuts, former CBS reporter Catherine Herridge — who was fired after investigating the Hunter Biden laptop — said that for CBS to release the footage or transcript would have normally been the common practice.

Harris’ Word Salad is Even Worse

CBS did Harris a significant favor on her answer about the Biden White House’s relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the war in Israel.

“Well, let’s start with October 7. 1,200 people were massacred, 250 hostages were taken, including Americans, women were  brutally raped,” her response that actually aired stated. “And as I said then, I maintain Israel has a right to defend itself. We would. And how it does so matters. Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. This war has to end.”

People noticed this response was different than the one given in the advertisement for the interview at the time: “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.”

That portion, roundly rebuked as a “word salad,” does not even scratch the surface of the full meandering answer.

After asking herself the rhetorical question “How can we get this war to end?” she said, “Well, critical elements of that are we have got to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done. We have to — we have to get aid in. We have to lay the path toward a two-state solution. I do believe that we must maintain that as an objective, no matter how out of reach it seems at the moment. And the work that we have to do is also pay attention to what is happening every day in the region and put U.S. resources into everything we can do, diplomatically and otherwise, to de-escalate what is happening in the region.”

A follow-up from interviewer Bill Whitaker, where he asks Harris about Netanyahu “charting his own course” and ignoring the Biden White House’s calls for moderation, was also heavily edited from 179 words to just 20: “The work that we do diplomatically with the leadership of Israel is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles.”

The full answer was:

Well, let’s start with this. On this subject, 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. And I think that is the most recent example of why what we do to assist in their defense around military aid is important. 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.

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 with other leaders in the region, including Arab leaders.

After another follow-up, where Whitaker presses that Netanyahu “is not listening,” adding that the Wall Street Journal said that the Biden administration was “repeatedly blindsided by Netanyahu,” Harris answered:

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.  And we’re not going to stop doing that.  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’ Rant On Accusations That Trump Is ‘Racist’

The Israel blabber could be the least of the scandal. CBS also completely edited out a portion where Harris talks about her accusations that Trump is “racist.”

She was prompted by Whitaker, who invoked the Charlottesville “very fine people” hoax, stating, “you have accused Donald Trump of using racist tropes when it comes to Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, when it comes to birtherism, when it comes to Charlottesville. In fact, you have called him a racist, and divisive. Yet Donald Trump has the support of millions and millions of Americans. How do you explain that?”

Harris’ answer stated that Trump had a “bouquet of microphones” to claim the “most vile lies” about Haitians in Springfield. Trump said that Haitians were kidnapping, cooking, and eating household pets like cats and dogs.

She then bizarrely spoke about how, during her time as a prosecutor and attorney general, the “words I spoke could move markets.” She followed that by talking about “picture day for an elementary school.”

So let’s just break down what you just talked about, and talk about it in the context of the words that Donald Trump has spoken, and the actions he has taken, and whether that is reflective of who we are as Americans, knowing we have so much more in common than what separates us. 

We have a former President who wants to be President again, who has a bouquet of microphones in front of him, who has said the most vile lies about a group of legal immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. And if I may, Bill, let me just say something. You know, from the time I was a prosecutor, to attorney general, to now I’m Vice President, I learned very early in my career when the voters bestow on you the authority to have these positions, you must be very thoughtful about how you use that microphone in front of you. And you know, when I was attorney general, the words I spoke could move markets. 

So the idea that the former president, who again is running to be President, would use that microphone in a way that is about vilifying and demeaning a whole population of people, you know what has happened because of that? One day when this happened was a school day, picture day for an elementary school. Picture day. You know what picture day is for our children. They get excited the night before when you put out the clothes they’re going to wear, they go to school making sure their faces are clean, and their hair is done, and they go to school for picture day. You know what happened to these children? They had to evacuate that day because of the fear of the threats that were being issued in Springfield because of the words of Donald Trump.

The only portion of this segment that aired was Harris saying, “So I say that I’m glad you’re pointing these comments out that he has made, that have resulted in a response by most reasonable people to say it’s just wrong. It’s just wrong.”

But the question was about how Trump could be so “racist” but have millions of Americans support him — suggesting Harris might think his supporters are guilty by association. To his credit, Whitaker followed up asking Harris how she could “bridge that seemingly unbridgeable gap.”

While not addressing the question, Harris referenced being a “leader” for the 12th and 13th time in the interview.

She Didn’t Know Why She Wanted To Be President

CBS also edited out significant portions of Harris’ answer as to why she sought the presidency in the first place.

The version that aired started with “It’s an election, Bill. And I take it seriously that I have to earn everyone’s vote,” continuing with, “This is an election for president of the United States. No one should be able to take for granted that they can just declare themselves a candidate and automatically receive support. You have to earn it. And that’s what I intend to do.”

That sounds much better than the full answer.

CBS left out the middle portion, where Harris went on a strange, platitude-filled tangent about “traveling the country”: “And that’s why I’m traveling our country. I’ve seen you in a few states in the last couple of days. I’m talking with folks where they live. I’m listening to folks. And working to earn the vote of every American.”

The Entire Discussion About Iran Was Removed

Whitaker asked Harris a softball question about foreign policy, giving her the opportunity to choose any country on Earth she considered to be the United States’ “greatest adversary” and give any kind of coherent answer as to why.

She was unable, so CBS removed the whole conversation.

“Well, there are different reasons that we should be thoughtful about each. Most recently, I think there’s an obvious one in mind, which is Iran. And look, I mean, Iran has American blood on their hands, okay?” Harris said. “And what we saw in terms of just this attack on Israel, 200 ballistic missiles, what we need to do to ensure that Iran  never achieves the ability to be a nuclear power, that is one of my highest priorities. And that must be.”

She then refused entirely to answer a follow-up question about whether she would use military action if she found out Iran was building a nuclear weapon, stating, “I’m not going to talk about hypotheticals at this moment.”

China and Taiwan, Too…

When asked about China asserting dominance in Asia, controlling the South China Sea, and encroaching on the Philippines, Harris’s answer was totally removed from the aired version.

“Well, I have actually worked very closely with the leaders in the Philippines on just this very issue, and including the work that we are doing in terms of coordination between our military and training, and what needs to happen in terms of protecting the freedom of the South China Sea,” Harris said.

CBS let Harris get away with just a voice-over that stated, “We must win the competition for the 21st century with China,” allowing her a seemingly commanding tone on the issue.

But the full quote, which was not aired, is as follows: “‘China, first of all, we must win the competition for the 21st century with China. We must be able to compete and win. We should not seek conflict, but we have to understand that there are parameters in which we must operate that include ensuring, for example, that we protect American business interests.”

She refused Whitaker’s attempt to get an answer on potential military involvement if China attacked Taiwan — she used the same “hypothetical” excuse as Iran — and then started talking about Chinese fentanyl coming into the United States, seemingly stealing a Trump talking point, as she frequently did on the campaign trail.

But on the issue of China, we also — again, these are not — We cannot afford to have foreign policy that is myopic.

We must be able to also, as it relates to China, continue to do the work that we have begun to deal with the flow of fentanyl coming into the United States. That’s a real issue. Again, you talk to families around our country who have — I just, on a constant, sadly, regular basis meet parents and family members of people who have died from fentanyl, young people who have died from fentanyl. Are we going to stop trying to stem the flow from fentanyl? And we have to deal with that, and understand China’s role in that, and our ability to work with China to stop that flow. Which we have begun to do, and I’m going to continue to do. We need to make sure we have open lines of communication with China, in particular military to military.

So these issues are all – they’re multifaceted.

The FCC

Right now, the FCC is reviewing CBS’ edits to see if they violate “news distortion” rules, which ensures broadcasters cannot intentionally distort news.

The review could have implications beyond the corporate media deceiving the American people just one month before a critical presidential election. An $8 billion merger deal between Paramount, which owns CBS, and Skydance is set to close in March.

Trump is reportedly in talks to settle with CBS, according to the New York Post.

Breccan F. Thies is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. He previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.