Something significant happened Wednesday with respect to CBS News. The network finally released the full transcript and raw footage from its now-infamous October 2024 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.
The interview came under fire after smart people on X noticed that the tease 60 Minutes aired Sunday, October 6, on Face the Nation was different from Harris’ answer to the same question about Israel that was part of the 60 Minutes broadcast Monday night.
It was the same question with a different answer, and that led to a very public firestorm that saw Donald Trump sue CBS News for $10 billion for defrauding consumers to win an election. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) demanded a transcript of the interview, which, for some reason, CBS News would not release.
Finally, the network was forced to hand over the raw video and transcript to the FCC this week. We now know the full sit-down with Harris was just over 50 minutes, and what they ultimately aired was about 20 minutes in length.
Now, that is typical for 60 Minutes. They don’t normally air everything they tape, and they don’t typically release the raw video anywhere. Having said that, it is not without precedent to do so. Catherine Herridge noted on X that the network posted the interview transcript – not just the edited version – after her July 2020 interview with then-President Trump.
They have done it before. So, once it became a controversy, why wouldn’t they have done it again? We are starting to get a clearer idea thanks to the full transcript and raw video.
The Controversial Clip
First, let’s take a look back at what was said in the preview clip that aired on Face the Nation.
BILL WHITAKER: But it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening.
HARRIS: 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.
Well, that didn’t match the version we saw the next night on 60 Minutes. Here’s how that went:
WHITAKER: But it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening.
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.
It is not much better, but it was slightly clearer and more succinct. With the release of the longer video, we now know how that whole thing actually took place. First, the question from Bill Whitaker was also edited down and the part taken out was more pointed than the way it aired in either version. This is what he asked:
WHITAKER: But it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening. The Wall Street Journal said that he– that your administration has repeatedly been blindsided by Netanyahu, and, in fact, he has rebuffed just about all of your administrations and treaties.
And this is how she responded in its entirety:
HARRIS: 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’re 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.
So, what we learned is the first half of that inane answer was aired on Face the Nation as a tease. On actual 60 Minutes, which aired the next night, they used the second half of the answer that was more succinct – though I don’t know that it was clearer.
Neither answer was good. But if you want to give them the benefit of the doubt, 60 Minutes may have been shooting for something that was a little closer to comprehensible. And now we do know that there wasn’t more inanity stuck inside the answer. There were just those two bits of inanity, and they chose one for Face the Nation and one for 60 Minutes.
Hopes and Dreams
That addresses the most controversial moment of the interview, but we have learned there was quite a bit left on the cutting room floor. The raw footage shows that the next 10 minutes of the Q&A was edited out entirely. Again, this was always going to happen. It is not inappropriate to edit an interview with a presidential candidate. But it is interesting to learn more about what we never got to see, like this gem:
HARRIS: We are people who have ambition and aspirations and dreams and optimism and hope. If you look at the character of who we are and how we have achieved the strength that we have achieved, I believe in large part it is because of our character and our belief in the promise of America. And I’m running for president because I want to do everything that is possible to create an opportunity for people to achieve those goals, those ambitions, and those dreams.
She said absolutely nothing. You guys all know how many times we heard those stupid, meaningless phrases out of her mouth. You can make the argument that they didn’t need to include it because everybody had heard her say it. But you tell me whether it is putting the thumb on the scale editorially to take that out.
You could make the case that you are running cover for her because she is showing what an empty vessel she is. This is all she has got. This is supposed to be a major, substantive sit down and that is what she fills it with – this completely empty, calorie-less filler that she says everywhere. You would have to have the debate internally about whether you are running cover for her by taking that out.
Candid Camera
Later in the interview, Harris went on a bizarre aside about picture day in school in Springfield, Ohio, after Trump’s “eating of the dogs and the cats” comments. 60 Minutes also saved her from that.
HARRIS: 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. We put out the clothes they’re gonna wear. They go to school making sure their faces are clean and their hair is done. And they go to school for picture day. And 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. So, so I say that I am glad you are pointing these, these, these comments out that he has made that have, have resulted in a response by most reasonable people to say it’s just wrong. It’s just wrong.
Unbelievable. That is where she went with it. And by the way, then she references the ‘bomb threats,’ which we know – and knew – were international. Some came from Russia. It had nothing to do with America. It was just sh-t-stirring from out of the country, but somehow that is Trump’s fault.
All of this would have led to criticism of Kamala Harris, and it got omitted from the interview. All they included was that last sentence, “I’m glad you’re pointing these comments out that he has made.”
Border Banter
The raw footage reveals there was another section clipped from the final edit. During what was supposed to be a substantive discussion on the border, this part was edited out:
HARRIS: There are a variety of factors that relate to what we have seen globally and what we are not immune from at our own border, in terms of what we have seen in terms of surge of immigration and irregular migration. And there are solutions at hand, but we’ve got to have leaders who are solution oriented, which we’ve been and are and I am going forward. Instead of leaders who want to make it a problem they can run on.
She is a know nothing.
So, were the edits election interference as some on the right claim, including President Trump this morning? Or were the edits just your typical 60 Minutes cut down? My own vote is: I am not surprised that all the edits they made were to her benefit.
You can check out Megyn’s full analysis by tuning in to episode 1,001 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.