Trump knows how to get under people’s skin when he wants to. And he just used with dramatic effect.
Now CBS is fuming mad after Trump started taunting them in this primetime interview.
Trump Recalls CBS Payout on “60 Minutes”
President Donald Trump reminded “60 Minutes” host Norah O’Donnell of his victorious lawsuit against the network during Sunday’s interview, noting they had to pay him “a lot of money” over last year’s Kamala Harris segment.
“And actually ’60 Minutes’ paid me a lot of money. And you don’t have to put this on because I don’t want to embarrass you, and I’m sure you’re not,” he said, gesturing toward Bari Weiss, CBS News’s new editor-in-chief.
“I think you have a great new leader, frankly, because the young woman that’s leading your whole enterprise is a great, from what I know, I don’t know her, but I hear she’s a great person.”
The exchange didn’t air in the broadcast but appeared in the extended YouTube version.
“But ‘60 Minutes’ was forced to pay me a lot of money because they took her answer out that was so bad,” Trump continued, referencing the 2024 Harris interview at the lawsuit’s core.
Lawsuit and Settlement Backdrop
Trump sued CBS and parent Paramount in October 2024, alleging election interference through selective editing of Harris’s response to Bill Whitaker about Benjamin Netanyahu ignoring the Biden administration. Different answers aired on separate nights, with critics claiming the network polished her image.
Paramount settled in July for $16 million—covering legal fees, case costs, and contributions to Trump’s future presidential library or charities, at his discretion.
The payout fueled accusations the network paid to smooth its $8 billion Skydance merger.
Optimism on Media Shifts, Warning on NYC
Trump expressed broader media hope: “I see good things happening in the news. I really do. And I think one of the best things that happened is this show and new ownership, CBS and new ownership.”
Weiss’s leadership has rattled progressive media circles, especially over her pro-Israel stance and critiques of liberal journalism.
On New York’s mayoral race, Trump labeled candidate Zohran Mamdani a communist and warned of aid cuts if he wins.
“It’s going to be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York,” he told O’Donnell. “Because if you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there. So I don’t know that he’s won, and I’m not a fan of Cuomo one way or another, but if it’s going to be between a bad Democrat and a communist, I’m going to pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you.”
