Trump says '60 Minutes' got worse under Bari Weiss: 'If they’re my friends, I’d hate to see enemies’

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump dismissed claims that '60 Minutes' now favors him under CBS News’ new leadership, calling such assumptions “dead wrong.”

In a Tuesday afternoon post on Truth Social (December 16), Trump criticized the network’s recent management changes and Paramount’s ownership shift, venting his frustration without singling out anyone by name. 

Trump denies CBS ties, says '60 Minutes' treated him worse after takeover

President Donald Trump said, “For those people that think I am close with the new owners of CBS, please understand that '60 Minutes' has treated me far worse since the so-called ‘takeover,’ than they have ever treated me before.”

He added, “If they are my friends, I’d hate to see my enemies!”

For context, in August, CBS’ parent company, Paramount, merged with Skydance Media, with new Paramount CEO David Ellison taking charge. He later selected Bari Weiss, known for criticizing legacy media as being too liberal, to lead CBS News.

The merger followed Trump’s $16 million settlement in 2024 with CBS News and Paramount over a '60 Minutes' interview with then–Vice President Kamala Harris. 

David Ellison’s father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, is a close Trump ally who has hosted fundraising events for him, and his company has joined other tech giants in the White House’s $500 billion AI infrastructure plan.

David Ellison, however, donated more than $900,000 to support former President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign last year. Shortly after completing Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount, Ellison appointed Bari Weiss, co-founder of The Free Press, to lead CBS News.

Trump calls Bari Weiss ‘great’ as ties with CBS soften post-settlement

In November, the POTUS spoke more favorably about CBS when he gave '60 Minutes' his first interview with the program since settling his lawsuit against the network.

He described Bari Weiss as a “great” new leader, saying, “I don’t know her, but I hear she’s a great person.”

Trump and his attorneys had claimed that CBS’s 2024 interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris constituted “election interference” and caused him “mental anguish.”

After settling the lawsuit, the president boasted that CBS “paid me a lotta money.” His comments came as Paramount competed with Netflix to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, with Paramount’s bid backed by funding from Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law.

Trump slams CBS and Paramount over Marjorie Taylor Greene interview

Donald Trump recently criticized the CBS network for interviewing Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga, following her announcement that she would resign from Congress.

The POTUS said his main issue with the show was not Greene herself, whom he called a “low IQ traitor,” but that Paramount, the new owner of '60 Minutes,' allowed such a broadcast to air.

“My real problem with the show, however, wasn’t the low IQ traitor [Greene], it was that the new ownership of '60 Minutes,' Paramount, would allow a show like this to air."

"They are no better than the old ownership, who just paid me millions of Dollars for fake reporting about your favorite president, ME! Since they bought it, '60 Minutes' has actually gotten worse!” Trump added.