Months after US President Donald Trump settled a $16 million lawsuit with CBS News, he is set to return to “60 Minutes” this Sunday, marking his first appearance on the programme since the dispute.
CBS confirmed that Norah O’Donnell conducted the interview at Mar-a-Lago on Friday. The network has, however, not disclosed how this week’s interview was arranged, nor whether any terms were set in advance.
Although O’Donnell, although is a former “CBS Evening News” anchor, she is not among the regular correspondents of “60 Minutes”.
The interview will be aired this Sunday, according to AP.
Trump’s relations with CBS
Going downhillThe president's relationship with the network and with the long-running newsmagazine, has been turbulent.
Back in run-up to the 2020 election, Trump abruptly ended an interview with correspondent Lesley Stahl, accusing the show of bias, and later his team released an unedited transcript.
Despite repeated overtures from the programme, he did not sit for an interview during the 2024 campaign. Trump would later accuse “60 Minutes” of editing its interview with Kamala Harris “deceptively” to present her more favourably.
Though CBS News denied the claim, maintaining that the Harris interview was edited according to routine editorial standards, Trump responded with legal action. He demanded the network $10 billion in damages but then raised the demand to $20 billion.
Although legal experts largely dismissed Trump’s lawsuit as meritless and unlikely to stand because of constitutional press protections, Paramount chose to pursue mediation instead, a move made as the company was working to close its $8 billion merger with Skydance.
Settling the feudThe matter was resolved when Paramount, the network’s parent company, paid Trump $16 million, back in July, to settle the case. The payment came weeks before the Federal Communications Commission approved Paramount’s merger with Skydance Media, led by new CEO David Ellison.
The lawsuit had internal consequences at CBS. Bill Owens, the executive producer of “60 Minutes”, stepped down in the spring, saying he could no longer run the programme independently. This was followed by the resignation of CBS News chief executive Wendy McMahon in May.
Although Paramount did not apologise or acknowledge any fault, the company agreed as part of the settlement to release transcripts of future “60 Minutes” interviews with presidential candidates.
A new chapterTrump has been signalling improved relations with the broadcaster, since David Ellison assumed control at Paramount this summer. Ellison is the son of Larry Ellison, a prominent Trump supporter.
Under his leadership, the company hired Kenneth Weinstein, the former head of a conservative think tank and a donor to Trump’s 2024 campaign, to review complaints alleging bias in the network’s journalism.
During a flight home from the Middle East on October 12, Trump supported Ellisons’ role in the reshaped media landscape. “Larry Ellison is great, and his son David is great. They're friends of mine. They're big supporters of mine, and they'll do the right thing,” he told reporters.
Paramount has also expanded its footprint in political and opinion media. In October, the company purchased the Free Press website and appointed its founder, Bari Weiss, as editor-in-chief of CBS News.
Weiss is reported to have helped secure a recent “60 Minutes” segment featuring Jared Kushner and Trump associate Steve Witkoff discussing the Gaza peace deal.