The Controversy Over Deleting Segments from Trump's "60 Minutes" Interview

Details of the Deletion and Multiple Versions of the Interview

Controversial Segment Deleted: In a recent "60 Minutes" report, a segment showing President Donald Trump's angry reaction to questions about corruption and cryptocurrency deals was deleted, according to a full version of the interview published by CBS. A 28-minute televised version of Trump's interview was aired, then an extended 73-minute version was published online, which was also shared by the White House's RapidResponse 47 account on platform X. Neither version included the moment Trump lost his temper over questions about the billionaire he pardoned after a $2 billion cryptocurrency deal with the Trump family. The MAGA social media account claimed the interview it published was the "complete" version of Trump "without network edits or stories." Meanwhile, an editor's note on "60 Minutes'" extended version upload to YouTube stated it was "condensed for clarity." However, the full tense exchange about crypto corruption with interviewer Norah O'Donnell, which can be seen in the transcript of the interview on the "60 Minutes Overtime" website, did not appear in either the televised or extended online versions.

Details of the Deletion of Trump's Statement About "60 Minutes"

Deleted Financial Statement: CBS also accommodated Trump's suggestion to delete a portion of the interview where the President boasted about the amount the parent company paid him earlier this year, stating: "Actually, paid me a lot of money. No need to put that in, because I don't want to embarrass you." This comment did not appear in any of the videos.

O'Donnell's Questions About the Pardon of Cryptocurrency Billionaire (CZ)

Interview Details in Mar-a-Lago: At the end of the interview, conducted at Mar-a-Lago on Friday, O'Donnell asked Trump if she could ask two more questions, according to the interview transcript. Throughout the interview, O'Donnell repeatedly noted she was conscious of time and occasionally interrupted some of Trump's lengthy answers. Trump, 79, said, according to the CBS transcript: "That means they'll treat me more fairly if I do that. I want to get... Now, good. Oh, these might be the questions I didn't want. I don't know. Okay, go ahead."

Pardon for Changpeng Zhao: O'Donnell, 51, then asked Trump about individuals he had pardoned, focusing on cryptocurrency billionaire Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, who was released from prison in September after pleading guilty to money laundering violations. It is worth noting that Changpeng Zhao, founder of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, pleaded guilty in November 2023 to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024. (Reuters, April 30, 2024).

Trump's Reaction to Questions About CZ

Trump's Answers on CZ: Portions of Trump's answers were included in the abbreviated version of the interview, which aired on television. 60 Minutes averaged more than 8.5 million viewers on television last season. The moment the President claimed he "doesn't know" who the man he pardoned is – before immediately contradicting himself – was not included, but his subsequent outburst was. Trump can be seen claiming about CZ: "I don't know who he is. I know he was sentenced to four months in prison or something like that, and I heard it was a Biden persecution campaign."

Background of the Trump Family's Cryptocurrency Deal

Background of CZ's Wealth and the Deal: CZ made his fortune as the founder of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange. The Wall Street Journal claimed that CZ had previously made a $2 billion deal with the Trump family's cryptocurrency project, World Liberty Financial, a project aimed at developing a new cryptocurrency to support freedom and democracy in the world, according to multiple sources. (Wall Street Journal, 2024).

Trump's Angry Reaction to Corruption Questions

Appearance of Pay-to-Play: In the broadcast interview, O'Donnell asked Trump: "How do you deal with the appearance of pay-to-play?" He replied: "Well, that's the thing, I don't know anything about..."

Trump's Anger at the Question: However, when O'Donnell asked again if Trump was "concerned about the appearance of corruption" regarding his pardon of CZ due to his family's connections, the interview transcript revealed that the President became annoyed. "I can't say, because I – I can't say – I'm not concerned. I don't want you to ask that question. But I allowed you to ask. You came to me and you said, 'Can I ask one more question?' And I said, yes. This is the question..."

Trump Ignores Corruption and Focuses on Cryptocurrency

O'Donnell's Interruption and Trump's Response: O'Donnell cut off Trump to say: "And you answered –" while the President continued: "I don't mind. Did I allow you to do that? I could have left. I didn't have to answer that question. I'm proud to answer the question. You know why? We took cryptocurrency –" O'Donnell interrupted Trump, likely to repeat her question, and Trump said: "Excuse me..." before continuing his presidential pitch for cryptocurrency without directly addressing the corruption angle.

Trump's Statements on Cryptocurrency: Trump said: "We are number 1 in cryptocurrency in the entire world. Others want to be. They're fighting very hard to be. But we're number 1 in cryptocurrency because I'm the President... We are number 1 in crypto and that's the only thing I care about. I don't want China or anyone else to take it. It's a massive industry." The Daily Beast contacted CBS and the White House for comment.

World Liberty Financial Denies Any Involvement

World Liberty Financial Denies Involvement: Norah O'Donnell, a prominent American journalist and anchor of "CBS Evening News", indicated in a voice-over in the aired "60 Minutes" broadcast that World Liberty Financial had denied any involvement in the pardon.

Trump's Lawsuit Against Paramount and His Statements About Harris

Trump's Lawsuit Against Paramount: Also, "60 Minutes" did not air on television the moment Trump boasted about his victory in a $16 million lawsuit against Paramount, which owns CBS, over what the President deemed a deceptive edit of Kamala Harris's interview. Trump had filed a $20 billion lawsuit claiming Harris's interview was edited "to tip the scales in favor of the Democratic Party" before the election.

Case Settlement and Its Impact: The case was settled in July, before Paramount needed FCC approval for its $8 billion merger with media company Skydance. It is worth noting that the settlement of Trump's lawsuit against Paramount in 2024 included Paramount's agreement to release transcripts of interviews with eligible U.S. presidential candidates after these interviews are broadcast, which was announced in July 2024.

Trump's Comments on Kamala Harris: Trump did not mention Harris by name on Sunday, but he said: "The press supported her. Oh, they supported her a lot. But, in the end, she failed because she couldn't speak. She wasn't a very smart person, in my opinion. But she couldn't speak properly. She couldn't speak."

Another Financial Statement: The President then noted: "And actually, paid me a lot of money. No need to put that in, because I don't want to embarrass you." The Daily Beast contacted Harris's office for comment.

Trump's Comments on Bari Weiss and the Implications of the Settlement

Trump and Bari Weiss: He then appeared to be talking about CBS's new "extremist-loving" editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, continuing: "I think you have a wonderful new leader, frankly, the young woman who's running your entire organization is fantastic – from what I understand. I don't know her, but I hear she's a fantastic person." It's important to clarify that the figure Trump is presumably referring to is American journalist and writer Bari Weiss (Bari Weiss), known for her critical views on progressive culture, and not "Bari Weiss" as editor-in-chief of CBS, but rather the founder and editor-in-chief of The Free Press. (The Free Press, 2024).

Trump's Allegations About Payment: He continued: "But 60 Minutes was forced to pay me – a lot of money because they removed her answer, which was so bad, it would have changed the election, two nights before the election. And they put a new answer in. And they paid me a lot of money for that. You can't have fake news. You have to have legitimate news. And I think that's happening."

Paramount Settlement Terms: As part of the Paramount settlement, while they were not required to apologize to Trump, they agreed that "in the future, 60 Minutes will release transcripts of interviews with eligible American presidential candidates after these interviews are broadcast, subject to edits required for legal or national security reasons."