President Trump just notched a massive win against media giants. Paramount Global and CBS caved, settling his election interference lawsuit with a payout that could top $30 million. The deal forces CBS to rethink how it handles political interviews, a move conservatives are cheering.
Fox News reported that Trump’s legal battle targeted CBS’s handling of a 2024 "60 Minutes" interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, with the settlement including $16 million upfront for legal fees and charitable causes, plus future funds for conservative ads.
Paramount and CBS finalized the agreement on July 1, 2025, after mediation. This dwarfs the $15 million ABC paid Trump in a separate defamation case last December.
The lawsuit, initially seeking $20 billion, accused CBS of editing Harris’s interview to hide her less polished moments.
A "Face the Nation" clip showed Harris stumbling through a response about Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mocked as a "word salad." Yet, the primetime "60 Minutes" special aired a sharper version, sparking claims of bias.
FCC-released footage in 2025 revealed CBS used different parts of Harris’s same response for the two broadcasts. Trump’s team argued that this selective editing misled viewers to prop up Harris. CBS, however, insisted its reporting was above board, denying any wrongdoing.
The settlement introduces the "Trump Rule," mandating CBS to release unedited transcripts of future presidential candidate interviews.
This change aims to ensure transparency, a win for those skeptical of media spin. Paramount’s management, though, isn’t thrilled about footing the bill for conservative causes.
Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, pushed for the settlement to avoid trouble with Trump’s FCC. With a multi-billion-dollar merger with Skydance Media on the horizon, she feared regulatory pushback. Paramount insists the lawsuit and merger are unrelated, but the timing raises eyebrows.
“This lawsuit is completely separate from the Skydance transaction,” Paramount claimed. That’s a tough sell when Redstone’s team scrambled to settle before the FCC could flex its muscle. The deal’s structure—no direct payments to Trump—shows careful navigation of political optics.
Trump’s legal spokesperson crowed to Fox News, “President Trump will always ensure no one gets away with lying to the American People.”
The MAGA base sees this as a long-overdue reckoning for biased media. Still, CBS’s refusal to apologize suggests they’re not fully humbled.
Sen. Bernie Sanders and eight Democrats urged Redstone not to settle, calling the lawsuit an “attack on the First Amendment.” Their letter warned of media intimidation, but conservatives argue the press has long dodged accountability. The First Amendment doesn’t shield deceit, they say.
“The unanimous view at ‘60 Minutes’ is that there should be no settlement,” a veteran producer fumed.
That defiance didn’t stop the deal, but it highlights CBS’s internal rift. “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley warned the settlement could tarnish the network’s reputation.
CBS News President Wendy McMahon stepped down in May 2025, citing disagreements over the company’s direction. “It’s time for me to move on,” she told staffers. Her exit, alongside "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens’ resignation in April, signals deeper unrest.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr fueled the fire by ordering CBS to release the unedited Harris transcript in 2025. His probe into potential “news distortion” gave Trump’s team ammunition. The amended lawsuit leaned on this transcript to argue CBS hid Harris’s weaker moments.
Trump took to Truth Social, slamming CBS for “defrauding the American People” with Harris’s edited interview.
His base loves the narrative: a fearless leader exposing media corruption. Critics, though, see a chilling effect on journalistic freedom.
The settlement’s future allocations for conservative ads and PSAs have Paramount’s current management grumbling. They’re stuck funding causes they don’t support, a bitter pill for a network already reeling from leadership shakeups. Yet, for Trump’s supporters, it’s justice served.
