House Speaker Mike Johnson accused CBS News of cutting critical key answers he gave during a “Face the Nation” appearance on Sunday as the embattled network still faces backlash over airing two different answers Vice President Kamala Harris gave to the same question.
While TV news organizations cut or trim pre-taped interviews for time on a regular basis, the process is supposed to be done with journalistic integrity that doesn’t strip critical context or give the appearance an answer could have been given at a different stage of the interview. CBS News has faced scrutiny in recent days for airing a longwinded answer Harris gave when promoting a recent “60 Minutes” interview, but cutting the poorly received answer when the show aired in primetime, instead showing a different response.
“CBS has been under fire for selectively editing their interviews to PROMOTE Democrats and UNDERMINE Republicans. Yesterday, they chose to cut FIVE important minutes out of my nearly 15 minute interview. You can be the judge as to why,” Johnson posted on X before providing examples.
CBS ’60 MINUTES’ AIRS TWO DIFFERENT ANSWERS FROM VP HARRIS TO THE SAME QUESTION
“I recently traveled to NC and victims of Hurricane Helene told me nearly two weeks after landfall, the Biden-Harris Administration had STILL not provided them with all the resources they desperately needed,” Johnson added. “But CBS selectively edited OUT ENTIRELY this first-hand perspective.”
Johnson, whose staff appears to have filmed the interview separately, then shared side-by-side video of what CBS aired compared to his entire answer. Moderator Margaret Brennan asked the House speaker about hurricane relief funds.
In the version that aired on CBS, Johnson said that the Biden-Harris administration has “obligated some funds, but they’ve only distributed two percent.”
“The rescue and recovery effort is still going on, and then we address the rest of it,” Johnson said in the answer that aired on CBS. The entire exchange was roughly 11 seconds.
But Johnson’s own footage, which he posted to social media, shows him providing a much more thorough answer.
“So they’ve obligated some funds, but they’ve only distributed two percent. When I was there on the ground, and you should go, I mean bring the cameras and talk to the people there, they’ll tell you. Don’t take a politician’s word for this, or the administration’s word for this, talk to people there on the ground. They had not been provided the resources, almost two weeks after the storm, that they desperately needed. And when I saw there, 13 days post the storm hitting that state, people are still being rescued… stuck in the higher elevations and the mountains because the roads are down… they need every available resource and all-hands on deck. The rescue and recovery effort is still going on, and then we address the rest of it,” Johnson said in the more thorough answer that wasn’t shown in full on CBS.
Johnson then shared another one of his “receipts” to reveal CBS’ editing job.
“Apparently, CBS also doesn’t want you to hear about Virginia Gov. Youngkin, who is trying to clean the state’s voter rolls so non-American citizens can’t vote there. We need more states doing this, but the Biden-Harris Administration is SUING VIRGINIA and trying to STOP it,” Johnson wrote on X to caption another side-by-side video.
In the second clip, Johnson and Brennan have a brief disagreement over non-citizens voting in federal elections.
In the version that aired on CBS, Johnson is heard saying, “Here’s the problem, there is a number of states that are not requiring proof of citizenship when illegals or non-citizens register to vote. We know that’s happening… everybody should want the law to be followed.”
But a much more thorough answer was left on the cutting room floor.
“Here’s the problem, there is a number of states that are not requiring proof of citizenship when illegals or non-citizens register to vote. We know that’s happening. Look, Glenn Youngkin in Virginia… he issued an executive order to clean up the voting rules heading into the election. Look, less than 30 days out, a couple of days ago, the Biden administration Department of Justice… sued the governor and the commonwealth of Virginia to try to prevent them from cleaning up their voter rules. See, that kind of thing creates a lot of doubt and concerns in the minds of the American people. Why would they do that? Everybody should want the law to be followed,” Johnson said in the clip that didn’t air in full on CBS.
Johnson then posted a third example.
CBS NEWS IN TURMOIL AS MULTIPLE CONTROVERSIES ERUPT AT THE NETWORK
“The Biden-Harris Admin let millions of illegal aliens in our country. So, the House passed the SAVE Act to ensure only American citizens vote in American elections. CBS edited that out and focused on 2020 instead of immediate threats to election integrity,” he posted on X to caption the side-by-side video.
Footage recorded by Johnson’s team shows that a lengthy response he gave was edited out by CBS.
CBS News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
PRESSURE MOUNTS ON CBS NEWS TO RELEASE FULL KAMALA HARRIS INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
CBS News has been under fire after Harris’ lengthy “word salad” answer that was aired on the Oct. 6 episode of “Face the Nation” to promote the “60 Minutes” sit-down was edited out of the primetime edition of the show that aired Monday, Oct. 7.
CBS has faced pressure to release the transcript, or unedited video, as many question whether Harris’ widely mocked answer was simply cut for time or removed to help the Democratic presidential nominee.
Harris was mocked by conservatives when footage of an unflattering answer she gave when Bill Whitaker asked why it seemed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t listening to the U.S. was aired by CBS ahead of the primetime showing of the “60 Minutes” interview.
However, the vice president’s lengthy answer didn’t make the final version and a shorter, more focused answer to the same question was shown instead. It appeared to be two different parts of one lengthy Harris response, but critics of CBS have pointed out that Americans will never know for sure without seeing the unedited transcript.
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