(and why the unedited version tells a very different story)
When Donald Trump reappeared on CBS’s 60 Minutes this weekend, it wasn’t just another presidential interview — it was a comeback years in the making. The man who once stormed out on Lesley Stahl in 2020 had sworn he’d “never give CBS another minute.” And yet, there he was, sitting across from Norah O’Donnell, visibly irritated but confident, declaring:
“They paid me a lot of money. You can’t have fake news anymore — only real news.”
That line didn’t make it to air.
According to AP, CBS cut the entire segment where Trump bragged about forcing Paramount Global — the network’s parent company — to settle a defamation lawsuit for $16 million. The unedited version, however, which CBS quietly uploaded to its online archive hours after the broadcast, shows Trump talking extensively about “winning” against the media giant and praising the new corporate leadership for “finally making CBS fair again.”
A New Era at CBS News
Trump’s decision to return wasn’t spontaneous. Insiders at both CBS and Paramount confirm that the turning point came after Bari Weiss, founder of The Free Press and a critic of “media groupthink,” was appointed editor-in-chief of CBS News in August 2025.
Weiss’s arrival, backed by a corporate restructuring at Paramount, signaled a cultural shift: CBS wanted back the conservative viewers it had lost. Trump noticed. On Truth Social, he called Weiss “a rare journalist with guts.”
For Trump, that was enough to test the waters again — this time with guarantees that the interview wouldn’t be a “gotcha edit.”
✂️ The Edit Heard ‘Round the Beltway
But even that promise came with political consequences.
CBS’s decision to cut the “Paramount settlement” exchange drew sharp criticism from media watchers. Conservative commentator Tim Miller (The Bulwark) fumed that the edit “hid Trump’s own admission of extortion.” Others saw it as CBS bending too far to accommodate him.
Meanwhile, the White House’s rapid-response X account uploaded both versions — edited and full-length — side by side, letting Americans decide for themselves.
A Calculated Return
So why did Trump do it?
Partly ego, partly optics. After winning his second term, he’s been eager to project legitimacy — to show that even “fake news” now bows to him. For CBS, it was a ratings win and an image reset: 60 Minutes drew its largest Sunday audience in three years.
But in the full, uncut footage, the old Trump is still there — bragging, blustering, and reminding viewers that for him, media isn’t a forum for accountability. It’s a stage for dominance.
The Takeaway
In the edited broadcast, Trump looked merely defensive.
In the unedited version, he looked triumphant — and disturbingly comfortable talking about having “corrected” a free press with cash and intimidation.
The irony writes itself:
The president who spent a decade calling CBS “fake news” now celebrates owning it.
And the network that once stood up to him… quietly hit upload on the truth he didn’t want cut.
Sources: Associated Press, Axios, Variety, The Free Press, CBS News Archive (unedited version published Nov 2, 2025).
Bilingual adaptation for VietnamWeek.net by Hoang Viet