The White House is reportedly negotiating a Donald Trump interview on 60 Minutes, just months after Paramount paid the president $16 million over the show’s editing of a Kamala Harris interview.
CBS staff had been preparing for a sit-down in New York, while Trump was in the city for a United Nations speech and the Ryder Cup, but plans slipped, according to Semafor.
Haggling over the interview comes after CBS tweaked its journalism to mollify Trumpworld.
The White House is understood to be insisting the conversation go out unedited. Semafor says that the interview is likely to “present Trump with the opportunity to take a victory lap on the airwaves of a network that recently cut him a large check.”
In July, Paramount settled Trump’s suit—filed under Texas consumer-law claims—without an apology, and agreed to publish full transcripts of future 60 Minutes interviews with presidential candidates.
As was reported at the time, the $16 million settlement is earmarked for Trump’s presidential library.
As a result of presidential pressure, CBS has also tweaked its journalism.
After Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blasted Face the Nation over edits to her pre-recorded appearance, CBS announced it will air interviews live or “live-to-tape” with no editing, and post full transcripts, per The Hollywood Reporter.
The 60 Minutes talks land amid a CBS News shake-up, reports Semafor. In April, longtime 60 Minutes boss Bill Owens quit, saying he no longer had “journalistic independence.”
In May CBS News chief Wendy McMahon resigned amid clashes over the network’s approach during Trump’s legal barrage.
At the same time, the FCC, under Trump-appointed Chairman Brendan Carr, has kept CBS in its sights with a “news distortion” review of the Harris segment—pressure that media-freedom groups say chills journalism.
Both CBS News and the White House declined to comment to Semafor.
And upstairs, reports Semafor, new corporate overlords are signaling a rightward pivot. After Paramount’s merger with Skydance closed in August, it is now reportedly planning to acquire Bari Weiss’ The Free Press and install her as CBS News’ editor-in-chief.
It’s not the only payoff Trump has received from a large media company.
On Tuesday, Trump boasted about YouTube paying out roughly $25 million to settle over his 2021 suspension—complete with an AI mock-up of an oversized check—much of which will go towards his monstrous ballroom project.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment. CBS declined to comment.
