All of the damning moments that CBS edited out of their interview with Kamala Harris have been laid bare – after the Federal Communications Commission ordered for the original to be made public.
Donald Trump claimed the sit-down had been rigged – and the unearthed version now shows that CBS only aired 20 minutes of Kamala Harris talking, compared to 60 minutes that were filmed.
The FCC released the interview on Wednesday after Trump sued CBS News in October, claiming the network purposely edited the interview to put him at a disadvantage in the presidential election.
The unedited clip opens with the former VP sneezing as she explains she is ‘allergic to mold,’ while other sections of her answers were cropped and cut out completely.
In other places, Kamala Harris gave rambled answers on why she should be president, foreign policy, and Donald Trump – all which were quietly nipped by CBS.
The full version of the interview shows that while Harris gave a lengthy answer when asked about Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, CBS only aired about seven seconds on 60 Minutes.
Here are the damning differences between the transcripts and what made it on air.
Harris slamming Trump as a ‘racist’ is edited out
The long version of the CBS interview revealed that the network cut out an entire answer Kamala Harris dedicated to slamming Donald Trump as a racist.
Interviewer Bill Whitaker asked the then-Vice President: ‘And talking about that person you’re mentioning right now, 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?’
Kamala Harris’ answer to this question was completely cut from the CBS episode.
In the uncut version, Harris bashed Trump for having a ‘bouquet of microphones’ at his disposal, and for his ‘most vile lies’ about people in Springfield, Ohio.
The reference is to the comments Trump made last year, about illegal migrants in the midwestern state eating people’s dogs.
In the unearthed version, Kamala also made a bizarre boast about how when she was DA in California, ‘the words I spoke could move markets.’
In the deleted version of the interview, Harris then went on a strange rant about school kids’ picture day that they seemingly missed as a result of Trump’s words about Springfield, Ohio.
She responded: ‘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.’
Instead of airing this section, the cut version on CBS was far less explosive against the Republican – and contained far fewer words.
In the aired version, Kamala Harris was broadcasted as 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.’
Harris’ answers on Israel are edited out
The interviewer asked: ‘What can the U.S. do at this point to stop this from spinning out 8 of control?’
Her response, which was aired, went as follows: ‘Well, let’s start with October 7. 1,200 people were massacred, 250 hostages 15 were taken, including Americans, women were brutally raped. 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.’
But the next section of her answer was completely edited out of the interview, the newly-released transcripts revealed: ‘And that [the war ending] has to be our number one imperative, and that has been our number one imperative.’
Unprompted, Harris then asked herself a rhetorical question – and gave a round-a-bout, lengthy, repetitive answer. This part was removed from the original broadcast.
Harris said: ‘How can we get this war to end?
‘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.’
CBS edited Whitaker’s question to Harris about Netanyahu not listening to the United States – where he cited reporting from The Wall Street Journal that the administration has repeatedly been blindsided by the Israeli PM.
Harris responded by boasting about the work they have done with Israel and cropped her answer down to just: ‘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’ answers on Iranian threat are edited out
Whitaker asked Harris a pointed, simple question about foreign policy – that was completely left out of the version CBS aired in October.
He asked the former VP: ‘Let’s hit on some more foreign policy. Which foreign country do you consider to be our greatest adversary?’
Kamala Harris’ answer was Iran – followed by a series of rambling sentences.
She said: ‘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?
‘And what we saw in terms of just this attack on Israel, 200 ballistic 11 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.’
The interviewer pushed her further, asking a question about what she would do if she – as the hypothetical President – found out the Middle Eastern power was building a nuclear arsenal.
He asked: ‘So if you have proof that Iran is building a nuclear weapon, would you take military action?’
But instead of taking the bait, Harris turned down the question completely.
She responded: ‘I’m not going to talk about hypotheticals at this moment.’
This entire conversation was edited out of the broadcast by CBS.
Harris’ answer on why she should be president is trimmed
Whitaker asked Harris why a quarter of voters feel they don’t know her – despite having served as the vice president for four years.
The newly-released transcript showed that CBS omitted a large chunk of Harris’ bizarre, digressive words about ‘traveling the country’ – rather than actually saying why she ought to be Commander-in-Chief.
‘But Madam Vice 21 President, a quarter of registered voters still say they don’t know you, they don’t know what makes you tick. And why do you think that is? I mean, you have been vice president for almost four years. You’ve been on the national scene for longer. What’s the disconnect?’ Whitaker asked.
In both the edited and aired versions, Harris started her response with: ‘It’s an election, Bill. And I take it seriously that I have to earn everyone’s vote.’
However, CBS edited out her next few sentences. ‘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,’ Harris said.
Both versions continued: ‘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.’
Harris’ answer on NATO and the war in Ukraine is trimmed
When asked if she would expand NATO to include Ukraine if she were President, CBS cropped down Harris’ response and jumped to her slamming Trump.
‘How about as President, would you support the effort to expand NATO to include Ukraine?’ Whitaker asked.
‘Those are all issues that we will deal with if and when it arrives at that point. Right now, we are supporting Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked aggression,’ Harris said.
The transcript showed Harris actually said: ‘And doing what we can to continue to build and strengthen the alliance around the support for Ukraine’s right to be an independent nation, free from having its borders forcefully taken by Russia.
‘And we are going to continue to work closely with our NATO allies to continue to reinforce America’s alliance in the context of NATO. Again, in this election, there’s a real difference between me and the former president.
‘I believe in reinforcing the strength of NATO, understanding again it is the greatest military alliance the world has ever known. Donald Trump would pull us out of NATO.’
However, CBS removed her speaking about what the Biden administration was doing to support Ukraine – before just showing her blasting Trump.
The version that aired on 60 Minutes jumped to Harris stating: ‘Donald Trump, if he were President, Putin would be sitting in Kiev right now. Let’s be clear about that. He talks about, oh, he can end it on day one. You know what that is? It’s about surrender.’
Harris’ economic plan answer is chopped up
When Whitaker asked Harris how she intended to pay for her economic plan, CBS edited out her answer on inflation.
‘It is estimated by the Nonpartisan Committee for Responsible Federal Budget that your economic plan would add $3 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade. How are you going to pay for that?’ Whitaker asked.
CBS kept the first sentence of the former vice president’s response, ‘Okay so the other economists that have reviewed my plan versus my opponent.’
But the transcript showed CBS sliced up her answer by removing the next part of her sentence.
‘Because this is an election and there are two choices, everyone from Goldman Sachs to Moody’s to Nobel laureates, so on the first point, comparing my economic plan to Donald Trump’s economic plan, they have reviewed it,’ Harris continued.
The aired version pieced her first sentence with this bit she said later on. ‘And determined that my economic plan would strengthen America’s economy, his would weaken it,’ Harris said.
Again, CBS removed her repeated ranting about analyst and a portion where she where she talked about inflation.
Harris said in the original transcript: ‘Sixteen Nobel laureates, Moody’s, others have determined, after reviewing what Donald Trump is proposing, that he would induce inflation, increase inflation, and bring about a recession by the middle of next year.’
They aired the last of her response, ‘My plan, Bill, if you don’t mind, my plan is about saying that when you invest in small businesses, you invest in the middle class, and you strengthen America’s economy. Small businesses are part of the backbone of America’s economy.’
Harris’ answers on China and Taiwan are edited out
Asking the then-VP a question about China, Whitaker said: ‘What about China? China is strongly asserting its dominance, its control of the South China Sea, especially around the Philippines. What is the U.S. responsibility for keeping China from simply taking over the South China Sea?’
Harris’ answer, which was completely cut from the broadcast, read: ‘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.’
The next section was also cut, apart from a voice over of Harris saying: ‘We must win the competition for the 21st century with China.’
The full, unaired quote, read: ‘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. What we -‘
Whitaker said: ‘So say if China attacks Taiwan. Would we use military force to support Taiwan?’
Harris refused to give a straight answer – and instead gave a flurried answer about fentanyl.
She said: ‘Bill, I’m not going to get into hypotheticals. But listen, we need to make sure that we maintain a one-China policy, and – but that includes supporting Taiwan’s ability to defend itself, including what we need to do to ensure the freedom of the Taiwan Strait.
‘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.’
CBS cuts crucial line from Harris’ answer on the border crisis
The network cut one very crucial line from Kamala Harris’ answer about the border crisis.
She was asked: ‘You recently visited the southern border, and embraced President Biden’s recent crackdown on asylum seekers. And that crackdown produced an almost immediate and dramatic decrease in the number of border crossings, and you said you would take it even further. If that’s the right answer now, why didn’t your administration take those steps in 2021?’
The answer she gave that was aired – and the one that was filmed – were nearly identical.
Harris said on the CBS broadcast: ‘So we came into office, and almost hours, Bill, after our inauguration, the first bill we proposed to Congress was to fix our broken immigration system, knowing that if you want to actually fix it, we need Congress to act. It was not taken up. Fast forward to a moment when a bipartisan group of members of the United States Senate, including one of the most conservative members of the United States Senate, got together, came up with a border security bill…’
In the aired version, Kamala Harris then went on to describe what happened next.
But the unedited version revealed that CBS left out three key words at the end of her speech about the border crisis bill.
‘…Which I support.’
