There’s plenty to criticize about 60 Minutes. Sometimes the show edits interviews too heavily, sometimes it leans too hard on the host’s posture of superiority, and — at times — it can be downright pretentious. But the criticism surrounding 60 Minutes airing an interview with President Donald Trump is misguided.
Regardless of how anyone feels about him, Donald Trump is the President of the United States, and any news outlet worth its salt should want to speak directly with the most powerful person in the world.
Yes, Trump sued CBS and 60 Minutes’ parent company after an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris was edited in a way his campaign claimed was misleading. That lawsuit, in my opinion, was frivolous. It felt less like a genuine legal grievance and more like a political maneuver — a well-timed attempt to exert pressure that might grease the skids for the Paramount–Skydance merger. But that’s politics. It’s not new, I hate it, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
But it’s not a reason to shy away from covering the sitting president.
And that’s what this comes down to: Donald Trump isn’t just a former president or a candidate anymore. He’s the President of the United States. When 60 Minutes sits down with him, it’s not “platforming.” It’s journalism.
Whether viewers love him or loathe him, millions of Americans are directly affected by his decisions. It’s the same argument I made when CNN faced internal outrage over airing a town hall with Trump during the Republican primary. At the time, he was leading in nearly every poll, dominating the conversation, and reshaping the party. That made him newsworthy then, and it makes him newsworthy now.
There’s a dangerous impulse inside many newsrooms to conflate discomfort with irresponsibility. Some journalists and producers believe that because a figure like Trump has attacked the press, lied, or manipulated coverage, the media has a duty to deny him attention. That’s not how journalism works. The press doesn’t exist to validate feelings. It exists to inform the public. The second 60 Minutes starts choosing who gets airtime based on internal politics instead of public relevance, it stops being journalism and starts being activism. And regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, I feel like that’s something we can all agree on: journalism is great, and activist journalism isn’t.
Even if some CBS News staffers or 60 Minutes correspondents personally dislike Trump — and many probably do — that doesn’t change the facts. He occupies the Oval Office, he’s making foreign policy decisions, he’s setting domestic priorities, he’s got his hands in the middle of the government shutdown, and he’s got plenty to say about the New York City mayoral race. Those are all topics deserving of tough, direct questioning. That’s what 60 Minutes is supposed to do.
If anything, this interview represents a moment for the show to prove it still matters. 60 Minutes built its brand on asking hard questions to powerful people — not avoiding them. Whether it’s the president or a corporate CEO, the program’s credibility comes from its willingness to engage, not retreat. Refusing to interview Trump because of past lawsuits or perceived slights would be an admission that the network’s skin has gotten thin.
Critics might say Trump will spin, lie, or deflect. Of course he will. That’s part of the job of interviewing him — to confront, to follow up, to press for clarity. If 60 Minutes can’t do that, then it deserves criticism for execution, not for the decision to conduct the interview in the first place.
Ultimately, journalism is about accountability. It’s not about comfort, agreement, or optics. The fact that Donald Trump sued CBS News doesn’t erase the reality that his presidency impacts the lives of every American. Pretending otherwise would be malpractice. The more journalists forget that, the more they abandon the purpose of their profession.
So yes, maybe the lawsuit was ridiculous. Maybe it was performative. But that doesn’t matter now. What matters is that 60 Minutes is talking to the President of the United States. And that’s exactly what journalism is supposed to do.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
I’m assuming you wrote this before the text of the interview cameOut and they left out his replies to being
Asked about crypto and the obvious correlation between pay to play and corruption never before seen.