Just months after receiving a $ 16 million settlement from the broadcaster for alleged “deceptive editing,” US President Donald Trump made an appearance on the CBS News program 60 Minutes.
In the interview with CBS host Norah O’Donnell, which was filmed last Friday at his Mar-a-Lago residence and aired on Sunday, Trump touched on several topics, including the ongoing government shutdown, his administration’s unprecedented crackdowns on undocumented migrants, the US’s decision to restart nuclear testing, and the trade war with China.
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Trump, who regularly appears on Fox News, a right-wing media outlet, has an uneasy relationship with CBS, which is considered centrist.
In the run-up to the 2020 election, the president disputed Lesley Stahl’s hostess in a 60 Minutes interview that he had attended in October 2020, claiming she was biased.
What are some important lessons learned from the interview:
The interview took place one year to the day after Trump sued CBS
The president’s attorneys filed a lawsuit against CBS owner Paramount in October 2024 for “mental anguish” following a pre-election interview with Kamala Harris that Trump claimed had been unfairly edited to benefit Democrats and had an impact on his campaign.
The response Harris gave to host Bill Whitaker’s question about Israel’s war on Gaza was broadcast on CBS in two different versions. One version aired on 60 Minutes while the other appeared on the programme Face the Nation.
When asked whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heeded US advice, Harris said, “We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States – be clear about our position on the need for this war to end.”
Harris had responded with a longer, more rambling response in an alternative edit that didn’t sound as succinctly. This was featured in earlier pre-broadcast promotions.
The network argued the answer was edited differently for the two shows due to time restrictions, but Trump’s team claimed CBS “distorted” its broadcasts and “helped” Harris, thereby affecting his campaign. Before granting the initial $10 billion in damages in February 2025, Trump requested $20 billion.
In exchange for $ 16 million in a donation to a planned Trump presidential library, Paramount made the decision to work with Trump’s team in July 2025. That move angered journalist unions and rights groups, which argued it set a bad precedent for press freedom.
According to Paramount executives, the company would not apologize for editing its programs but had instead chosen to settle to settle the dispute.
The business was attempting to a merger with Larry Ellison’s Skydance at the time while obtaining federal approval from Trump’s government. The Federal Communications Commission has since approved the merger that gives Ellison’s Skydance controlling rights.
On 60 Minutes, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, and Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East, spoke about the Israel-Gaza conflict on October 19.
He solved rare-earth metals issue with China
Trump praised his counterpart as a “strong man, a very powerful leader” and said their relationship was on an even keel despite the trade war after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea last Thursday. He attributed China’s dominance of crucial rare earth materials to its “ripping off” of the US, though.
Trump told 60 Minutes he had cut a favourable trade agreement with China and that “we got – no rare-earth threat. That’s gone, “completely gone,” referring to Chinese export restrictions on crucial rare-earth metals needed to produce a range of products, including electric vehicles, smartphones, and defense equipment.
Beijing only stated that it would hold off on imposing export restrictions on a further seven rare earth metals that it announced in April of this year, and that it only announced that it would do so after it delayed imposing them in October. Those restrictions remain in place.
If China attacks Taiwan, Xi “knows what will happen.”
Trump claimed that President Xi had not disclosed any information regarding Beijing’s plans to attack Taiwan.
However, he referred to past assurances from Xi, saying: “He]Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘ We would never do anything while President Trump is president’, because they know the consequences”.
Trump rebuffed his question, saying: “You’ll find out if it happens, and he understands the answer to that. I can’t give away my secrets. The opposing party is aware.
There are mounting fears in the US that China could attack Taiwan. Observers have always been speculating whether the US would defend Taiwan against Beijing because of Washington’s “strategic ambiguity.” Trump argued that Taiwan should “pay” for protection ahead of the previous elections.
He doesn’t know who the crypto boss he pardoned is
Trump responded, “I don’t know who he is,” when asked why he pardoned billionaire Changpeng Zhao, a founder of Binance, last month.
The administration’s former US President Joe Biden claimed he had never met Zhao but that he had been informed that he was the subject of a “witch hunt.”
Zhao pleaded guilty to enabling money laundering in connection with child sex abuse and “terrorism” on his crypto platform in 2023. He resigned as Binance’s chief executive after serving four months in prison until September 2024.
Many people have questioned whether the case is a conflict of interest because Binance has been linked to World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company owned by the Trump family.
In March 2025, World Liberty Financial launched its own dollar-pegged cryptocoin, USD1, on Binance’s blockchain and the company promoted it to its 275 million users. Additionally, MGX Fund Management Limited, an investment fund in the United Arab Emirates, purchased a stake in Binance using $2 billion worth of World Liberty stablecoin.
The full transcript of the 90-minute interview was provided, but it did not appear in the televised 28-minute interview or the 73-minute extended online video version. CBS said in a note on the YouTube version that it was “condensed for clarity”.
Other nations are “testing nuclear weapons”
Trump defended his government’s decision last week, saying that other nations are already conducting it, besides North Korea, by resuming its nuclear testing program for the first time in 33 years.
“Russia’s testing, and China’s testing, but they don’t talk about it”, Trump said, also mentioning Pakistan. We are a society that is open, you know. We are unique. We talk about it. We must talk about it because otherwise, you will report because there are no reporters who will report on it. We actually do.
Russia, China, and Pakistan have not openly conducted tests in recent years. Georgia Cole, an analyst for Chatham House in the UK, claimed there is “no sign” that the three nations have resumed testing.
He doesn’t worry about Hamas disarming.
The president claimed the US-negotiated ceasefire and peace plan between Israel and Hamas was “very solid” despite Israeli strikes killing 236 Gazans since the ceasefire went into effect. Hamas, a Palestinian armed group, hasn’t yet agreed to disarm, which is another question.
Trump asserted, however, that Hamas’ disarmament was not his concern because the US would impose it on the armed group. “Hamas could be taken out immediately if they don’t behave”, he said.
Venezuela’s Maduro’s “days are numbered”
Despite deadly airstrikes against alleged drug-trafficking ships in Venezuela and US military expansion off its coast, Trump denies that the country was going to war with Venezuela. The United Nations has said the strikes are a violation of international law.
Trump said the strikes weren’t intended to defeat Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, but that they weren’t. When asked if Maduro’s days in office were over, the president responded, “Yes, I guess.
Democrats are at fault for the US government shutdown.
Trump, a member of the Republican Party, attributed the shutdown to Democrats, which has been ongoing since October 1 and is now close to the longest in US history.
Senators from the Democratic Party have refused to approve a new budget unless it extends expiring tax credits that make health insurance cheaper for millions of Americans and unless Trump reverses healthcare cuts made in his tax-and-spending bill, passed earlier this year.
The US president made it abundantly clear that he would not negotiate with Democrats and that he would not make any explicit recommendations for the government’s 1.4 million-strong shutdown.
If tariffs are imposed, the US will become a “third-world nation.”
Referring to a US Supreme Court hearing brought by businesses arguing that the Trump government’s tariff war on other countries is illegal and has caused domestic inflation, Trump said the US “would go to hell” and be a “third world nation” if the court ordered tariffs to be removed.
He claimed that the tariffs are necessary for “national security” and that other nations have begun to respect the US more.
ICE raids “don’t go far enough.”
Trump defended his government’s unprecedented Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and surveillance on people perceived to be undocumented migrants.
When questioned if the raids had been too extensive, he replied, “No.” Because of the liberal judges that were appointed by [ancient US Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, I believe they haven’t gone far enough.
