WASHINGTON, DC: It looks like Donald Trump just bagged another high-profile media settlement—this time with CBS and its parent company, Paramount Global.
On Tuesday, July 1, the president secured a deal that could see him pocket more than $30 million, settling a lawsuit that accused the network of election interference tied to a 2023 ’60 Minutes’ interview with Kamala Harris.
Sources told Fox News that Trump will get $16 million upfront, which is earmarked to cover legal fees, case-related costs, and whatever charitable or presidential library project he feels like funding in the future.
On top of the initial payout, there’s word of a mid-eight-figure budget being allocated by CBS down the line for conservative-friendly content, including “advertisements, public service announcements, or other similar transmissions,” according to Fox News.
CBS, however, is reportedly pushing back on that part, with Paramount’s current management disputing the future spend.
If those extra figures come through, it would put the total deal far beyond the $15 million ABC shelled out last year to settle a separate defamation case with Trump. CBS, meanwhile, is insisting that this deal isn’t a confession.
‘The Trump Rule’ and a media shake-up
As part of the deal, CBS is also changing its editorial standards. From now on, unedited transcripts of interviews with presidential candidates must be released promptly—a direct result of what insiders are now calling the “Trump Rule.”
The move comes after Trump’s team accused CBS of deceptively editing a Harris interview in a way that distorted her answer and protected her from criticism during the critical pre-election window.
“With this record settlement, President Donald J. Trump delivers another win for the American people as he, once again, holds the Fake News media accountable for their wrongdoing and deceit,” a Trump legal team spokesperson told Fox News.
“CBS and Paramount Global realized the strength of this historic case and had no choice but to settle. President Trump will always ensure that no one gets away with lying to the American People as he continues on his singular mission to Make America Great Again.”
Trump originally came in swinging with a massive $20 billion lawsuit, targeting CBS for its handling of the 2023 ’60 Minutes’ piece with Kamala Harris. He claimed the edit amounted to election interference just ahead of the 2024 vote.
Kamala Harris’ ‘word salad’ put network in hot water
It all goes back to the ‘60 Minutes‘ exchange where Harris was asked by correspondent Bill Whitaker why Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t listening to the Biden administration. The clip that aired on ‘Face the Nation’ showed Harris fumbling through a “word salad” answer for which she was roasted online.
But in a different broadcast, during a primetime special, Harris appeared much more composed and offered a sharper answer to the same question. That raised red flags.
Critics accused CBS of airing the second half of her response later—a selective edit meant to make her look better and shield the Democratic nominee from pre-election backlash.
Turns out both responses were part of one continuous statement, according to FCC-reviewed footage. CBS had reportedly aired the jumbled part first, and the polished response later.
CBS stood by its reporting, but it was chaos behind the scenes. The lawsuit eventually forced the network to hand over the unedited transcript, thanks to a probe launched by FCC Chair Brendan Carr after a formal complaint. CBS had originally refused to release the raw footage until the FCC got involved.
Trump’s lawyers pounced on the unedited transcript, sharing multiple excerpts to bolster claims that CBS intentionally left out unfavorable content to help Harris.
Fallout behind the curtain after Kamala Harris ’60 Minutes’ interview
The whole fiasco took its toll. Longtime ’60 Minutes’ executive producer Bill Owens threw in the towel this past April. Sources say Owens walked because he couldn’t make the “independent decisions” necessary for the show to operate freely. He stood by the Harris edit and was staunchly against any apology to Trump.
Industry whispers suggested that Shari Redstone, Paramount Global’s controlling shareholder, was looking to settle before her planned multi-billion-dollar merger with Skydance Media, fearing possible retaliation from Trump’s FCC.
Still, Paramount tried to play it cool. “This lawsuit is completely separate from, and unrelated to, the Skydance transaction and the FCC approval process. We will abide by the legal process to defend our case,” the company said earlier.
Paramount released a formal statement addressing the settlement itself. “The settlement will include a release of all claims regarding any CBS reporting through the date of the settlement, including the Texas action and the threatened defamation action,” it said.
Sen Bernie Sanders and eight fellow Democrats wrote a letter in May urging Redstone not to settle, calling it a threat to press freedom. They slammed it as “a blatant attempt to intimidate the media and those who speak out against him, President Trump,” and fumed that “Presidents do not get to punish or censor the media for criticizing them.”
Despite the pressure, the network and Trump pushed forward with mediation. It’s worth noting that the president had already called the case a “winner” back in April.
“They cheated and defrauded the American People at levels never seen before in the Political Arena,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Kamala Harris, during Early Voting and, immediately before Election Day, was asked a question, and gave an answer, that was so bad and incompetent that it would have cost her many of the Votes that she ended up getting.”
No apologies to Trump and no personal payouts by CBS
CBS isn’t admitting to any journalistic wrongdoing, and there’s no official apology in the settlement.
While Trump may be celebrating the financial windfall, no money from the deal is being paid “directly or indirectly” to the president personally.
Still, it’s another big win for Trump in his war with the media.
After ABC paid him $15 million last year for their anchor George Stephanopoulos falsly claiming Trump was “liable for rape,” CBS is now shelling out even more and revising its internal policies to boot.
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