It’s no secret that CBS News has a history of playing fast and loose with President Donald J. Trump’s interviews — just ask their legal department, which had to cough up a $16 million settlement last year for deceptively editing Kamala Harris’s 2024 interview.
But this time, not all the edits were part of some deep-state scheme — apparently, there was simply too much Trump for a 28-minute episode to contain. And thankfully, we’ve now got the transcript and the raw footage of the missing moments that CBS conveniently left on the cutting-room floor.
CBS anchor Norah O’Donnell tried hard — really hard — to corner Trump over his pardon of crypto billionaire Changpeng Zhao (“CZ”), the founder of Binance. She accused him of corruption because Binance had also purchased $2 billion in stablecoins from World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture run by Don Jr. and Eric Trump.
Trump didn’t flinch.
“Norah, I can only tell you this. My sons are into it,” he said. “I’m glad they are, because it’s probably a great industry — crypto. I think it’s good. You know, they’re running a business, they’re not in government.”
His point was simple: unlike the Biden family, the Trumps actually built businesses before politics — and they’re still doing it transparently. Trump added that his top concern was keeping America number one in crypto and preventing China from taking the lead in financial innovation.
O’Donnell, hungry for a “corruption” headline, asked whether he was worried about the appearance of impropriety. That’s when Trump delivered one of the sharpest moments of the night — which CBS didn’t air.
“I’d rather not have you ask the question,” he said coolly. “But I let you ask it. You said, ‘Can I ask another question?’ and I said, yeah. I could’ve walked away — I didn’t have to answer this question. I’m proud to answer it. You know why? We’ve taken crypto.”
That’s vintage Trump — confident, unshaken, and always in control.
Another unaired gem came when Trump reminded O’Donnell — and all of America — that CBS paid dearly for its “deceptive editing” of Kamala Harris’s 2024 interview, which, according to Trump, changed the entire election narrative just 48 hours before voters went to the polls.
“60 Minutes paid me a lotta money,” Trump said. “And you don’t have to put this on, because I don’t wanna embarrass you… But you’ve got a great, new leader, frankly — the young woman that’s leading your whole enterprise is great.”
He was referring to Bari Weiss, CBS’s new editor-in-chief, whom he credited for trying to steer CBS away from partisan bias.
Trump went on:
“They took Kamala’s answer out — it was so bad, it was election-changing. Two nights before the election! And they paid me a lot of money for that. You can’t have fake news. You’ve gotta have legit news.”
Imagine that: the same media that spent years accusing Trump of “undermining journalism” literally had to pay him millions for doing exactly that themselves.
In yet another unaired exchange, O’Donnell asked Trump whether he planned to run again in 2028. His answer didn’t make it past CBS’s editors.
“I don’t wanna start talking about elections. It’s too early,” Trump said. “One thing I can tell you — the 2020 election was rigged.”
He continued,
“And a lotta people say when it’s rigged you’re allowed to do it again. It was rigged. It’s been caught. You see the same information everyone else does — and it’s coming out now in spades. But with all of that, we have a great bench.”
In other words, Trump isn’t just focused on the past — he’s confident in the future of the America First movement.
For all the pearl-clutching from the corporate press, the unedited footage proves what we’ve known all along: when Trump speaks unfiltered, Americans listen — and the establishment panics.
CBS aired a version of the interview that made O’Donnell look “tough” and Trump look defensive. But the raw truth? He dominated the conversation, outmaneuvered every question, and reminded viewers why he’s still the most influential political figure on the planet.
They can edit, spin, and censor all they want — but the facts, and the footage, tell a very different story.
