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President Donald Trump unloaded on CBS and “60 Minutes” on Monday, insisting its new ownership is “no better” than the previous regime after Lesley Stahl’s Sunday interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., whom the president has called a traitor during their recent feud.
CBS’ parent company, Paramount, merged with Skydance Media in August, putting new Paramount CEO David Ellison in charge of the company. He quickly tapped Bari Weiss, who built her brand around the notion that legacy outlets suffer from liberal groupthink, to oversee CBS News. Many believed that Trump would find Weiss’ CBS News less objectionable than past management, but the president doesn’t appear to feel that way at the moment.
“My real problem with the show, however, wasn’t the low IQ traitor [Greene], it was that the new ownership of 60 Minutes, Paramount, would allow a show like this to air. THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP, who just paid me millions of Dollars for FAKE REPORTING about your favorite President, ME! Since they bought it, 60 Minutes has actually gotten WORSE!” Trump said.
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Trump, who sat for his own interview on “60 Minutes” in early November, said in the social media post that Stahl still owed him an apology over his interview with her in 2020.
“Oh well, far worse things can happen. P.S. I hereby demand a complete and total APOLOGY, though far too late to be meaningful, from Lesley Stahl and 60 Minutes for her incorrect and Libelous statements about Hunter’s Laptop!!!” the president continued.
Stahl famously dismissed a statement made by Trump about former President Joe Biden being embroiled in a scandal with regard to the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop during the “60 Minutes” interview in 2020.
“He’s not,” Stahl replied at the time.
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“Of course he is, Lesley,” Trump sternly doubled down.
“No, c’mon,” Stahl continued to reject the president’s claim during the 2020 interview, before lecturing him, “This is ’60 Minutes’ and we can’t put on things that we can’t verify.”
The laptop was later verified.
Trump also attacked Greene over her interview with the program, which aired on Sunday. Greene recently announced she would be resigning from Congress and will be leaving office next month.
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“Marjorie is not AMERICA FIRST or MAGA, because nobody could have changed her views so fast, and her new views are those of a very dumb person. That was proven last night when washed up, Trump hating, 60 Minutes ‘correspondent,’ Lesley Stahl, who still owes me an apology from when she attacked me on the show (with serious conviction!), that Hunter Biden’s LAPTOP FROM HELL was produced by Russia, not Hunter himself (TOTALLY PROVEN WRONG!), interviewed a very poorly prepared Traitor, who in her confusion made many really stupid statements,” the president wrote.
Trump’s attack on Paramount and CBS came the same morning that Ellison launched an all-cash tender offer to acquire outstanding shares of Warner Bros. Discovery for $30 per share in cash in a hostile takeover attempt. Paramount said in a press release that regulatory certainty is among the reasons why it sees itself as a better fit.
“Paramount is highly confident in achieving expeditious regulatory clearance for its proposed offer, as it enhances competition and is pro-consumer, while creating a strong champion for creative talent and consumer choice,” the press release stated.
Trump sought $20 billion in his lawsuit against CBS over its handling of an edited “60 Minutes” interview last year with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing the network of election interference leading up to the 2024 contest. The dispute was settled in July, with Trump receiving $16 million upfront to cover legal fees, costs of the case, and contributions to his future presidential library or charitable causes.
The settlement paved the way for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to approve a long-planned merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media that put Ellison in charge of the newly formed company.
Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Trump’s latest criticism.
Fox News’ Joseph Wulfsohn and Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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