The Power of Trump's '60 Minutes' Interview: A Ratings Game Changer
In a move that sparked controversy and captivated audiences, President Trump's highly anticipated interview with CBS News' '60 Minutes' program delivered a massive ratings boost. But here's where it gets interesting: this interview comes a year after Trump's legal battle with the newsmagazine over editing practices, which resulted in a multi-million-dollar settlement.
The November 2nd episode featuring Trump's interview attracted an impressive 14 million viewers, with 3 million in the key 25-54 demographic, according to Nielsen ratings. This marked CBS' best audience since January 10, 2021, when an episode aired post-Capitol attack, featuring interviews with key political figures.
For the 2024-25 season, '60 Minutes' averaged 8.32 million viewers, but Trump's appearance took it to new heights. And this is the part most people miss: the interview also generated a massive buzz on social media, with '60 Minutes' hitting 144.9 million total video views across platforms, a significant jump from the previous week's high of 92.6 million.
Trump's interview with Norah O'Donnell, a senior CBS News correspondent, was his first with '60 Minutes' in five years. During the interview, Trump made some bold claims, boasting that '60 Minutes' paid him a substantial sum to settle the lawsuit over the editing of an interview with then-VP Kamala Harris. He also praised the takeover of Paramount by David Ellison's Skydance Media, but these comments were edited out of the CBS broadcast.
"'60 Minutes' paid me a lotta money," Trump said. He continued, "You don't have to put this on... I don't wanna embarrass you... I think you have a great new leader." Trump was referring to Bari Weiss, the newly appointed editor-in-chief of CBS News, following the acquisition of her outlet, The Free Press, by Paramount Skydance for $150 million. Trump added, "I don't know her, but I hear she's a great person."
Trump also expressed his support for the Ellison family's acquisition of Paramount, the parent company of CBS, stating, "I see good things happening in the news... I think it's the greatest thing that's happened in a long time to a free and open press."
Trump's relationship with Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle, was also mentioned. He praised Larry and his son David, calling them friends and supporters. Trump predicted that they would "revitalize CBS" and bring it back to its former glory.
Trump's claim that '60 Minutes' paid him has sparked debate. Technically, it was Paramount Global that agreed to pay Trump $16 million to settle the lawsuit alleging deceptive editing of Harris' responses. Legal experts believe Paramount would have won in court, but former shareholder Shari Redstone pushed for an out-of-court settlement, paving the way for the Trump administration's approval of the Skydance Media acquisition of Paramount Global.
CBS News released a full transcript of the Harris interview, showing no alteration of her remarks. However, Trump insisted that '60 Minutes' was forced to pay him due to the alleged misleading editing, which he believed changed the election outcome.
The interview covered a wide range of topics, from international politics to ICE raids, the economy, healthcare, and the government shutdown. O'Donnell questioned Trump about his role as president and his family's crypto investments, to which he replied dismissively, "I can't say... I'd rather not have you ask the question."
Trump boasted that the U.S. is number one in crypto, crediting his presidency. He also discussed his pardon of "crypto's richest man, CZ," referring to former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty to money laundering charges and was sentenced to four months in jail.
Trump's interview with '60 Minutes' has left many questions and sparked debates. What are your thoughts? Do you think the interview was fair, or did it raise more concerns? Share your opinions in the comments; we'd love to hear from you!
