Trump Rejects Paramount’s $15,000,000 Settlement Offer and Demands Public Apology from CBS News

President Donald Trump has forcefully rejected a $15 million settlement offer from Paramount Global in a lawsuit that has now ballooned to $20 billion, as tensions continue to rise over allegations of media manipulation and election interference by CBS News.

Trump’s legal team is demanding no less than $25 million along with a formal apology from the news division of Paramount, reflecting the president’s unrelenting stance against what he views as a calculated and politically motivated effort to deceive the American public in the critical weeks leading up to the last presidential election.

At the heart of this monumental lawsuit is a now-infamous “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris that aired during the height of the 2024 campaign.

In that interview, correspondent Bill Whitaker asked Harris why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was refusing to heed the Biden administration’s position on a key diplomatic issue.

Harris, in a preview aired on “Face the Nation,” appeared to fumble through a jumbled, unclear answer that critics immediately labeled a “word salad.” However, when the interview was aired in full during a primetime special, viewers saw a far more polished and coherent version of her response.

The discrepancy ignited a firestorm, with Trump and his supporters accusing CBS News of deceitfully editing Harris’s answer to protect the Democratic ticket and manipulate public perception.

According to Trump’s legal filing, CBS’s editorial decision to split Harris’s response and present each half in two separate broadcasts was not an innocent production choice but a calculated act of election interference.

The lawsuit claims that CBS deliberately concealed Harris’s incoherence in order to soften public backlash and stabilize the Democratic campaign during a moment of political vulnerability.

The implications of this act, Trump’s legal team argues, extend beyond journalism and strike at the very foundation of democratic transparency and electoral fairness.

Despite attempts by Paramount to resolve the issue through mediation, including the $15 million settlement offer that Trump recently rebuffed, the president’s legal representatives are holding the line.

They insist that the damage done to Trump’s campaign and to the American people’s trust in media institutions cannot simply be compensated financially — it also requires public accountability.

Trump is calling for a formal, public apology from CBS News acknowledging the deliberate distortion and its impact on the election. Furthermore, his attorneys have reportedly floated the possibility of filing an additional lawsuit, signaling that Trump’s legal offensive against the media conglomerate may not be over.

Fox News Digital confirmed the details of the settlement rejection through a source familiar with the ongoing negotiations. Paramount Global, for its part, has declined to issue a public comment on the matter.

Shari Redstone, the media heiress and controlling shareholder of Paramount, had reportedly recused herself from the negotiations back in February. Her stated goal had been to bring an end to the lawsuit as quickly as possible, particularly in light of Paramount’s pending multibillion-dollar merger with Skydance Media — a deal that would require regulatory approval from the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission.

The legal dispute has caused substantial unrest within CBS News itself, with growing concerns among journalists and executives that editorial independence may have been compromised in the network’s recent handling of political coverage.

According to insiders, Redstone’s desire to “keep tabs” on CBS’s reporting related to Trump, at least until the merger is finalized, became a source of internal conflict.

That friction reached a breaking point with the abrupt resignation of “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens, who reportedly stepped down over his inability to maintain editorial freedom amid the increasing corporate scrutiny.

More turmoil followed with the ouster of CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon, who resigned last week, citing fundamental disagreements with the direction the network was heading.

These high-level departures underscore the immense pressure that CBS is facing, both legally and internally, as the Trump lawsuit casts a long shadow over its operations and reputation.

Despite these shakeups, some figures within CBS News have chosen to dig in rather than reassess the network’s editorial decisions. Among the most vocal has been “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley, who used his commencement address at Wake Forest University to issue a scathing critique of President Trump.

Pelley, in what many interpreted as a response to the lawsuit, launched into a sweeping indictment of the president’s views on journalism, universities, and civil liberties.

His remarks accused Trump of stoking fear, intimidating journalists, and attempting to suppress dissent — allegations that echo longstanding media narratives but also illustrate the deep polarization gripping the country’s political and media landscapes.

However, Trump’s supporters see the lawsuit not as an attack on journalism, but as a defense of truth and accountability. They argue that the CBS controversy epitomizes a broader pattern of media misconduct that has plagued Trump since the beginning of his political career.

From selective editing and deceptive headlines to baseless accusations and double standards, many believe the press has repeatedly targeted Trump while shielding his opponents. This lawsuit, they contend, is a long-overdue reckoning.

The president’s demand for $25 million is, according to insiders, less about personal financial gain and more about sending a message that media conglomerates cannot manipulate democratic processes without consequence.

Trump’s allies argue that media outlets must be held to the highest standards of accuracy and fairness — especially during election seasons when their influence can shape national outcomes.

The financial damages being sought are intended to reflect the scale of harm done, not only to Trump’s campaign but to public trust.

While CBS News has continued to deny wrongdoing, insisting that both clips of Harris’s answer were taken from the same response and that their decision to split them between broadcasts was standard editorial practice, Trump’s team remains unsatisfied.

They argue that such a division of content — airing the more damaging half in a less viewed segment and reserving the polished version for primetime — is inherently deceptive and designed to manufacture public perception.

As the mediation process unfolds, it remains unclear whether the parties will be able to reach a settlement that satisfies Trump’s conditions. Given his firm stance and growing momentum in legal and political circles, many observers believe the president is unlikely to accept any agreement that does not include a full public acknowledgment of fault by CBS.

The issue has grown far beyond the confines of a typical defamation or media lawsuit. It now stands as a symbolic clash between a president determined to expose what he sees as systemic media corruption and a news industry struggling to defend its legitimacy in an increasingly divided America.

For Trump, the battle is not just about the 2024 election — it is about defining the future of media accountability and setting a precedent that powerful media institutions cannot act with impunity.

His legal team has expressed confidence in their ability to take the case as far as necessary, including through appeals if an initial ruling does not go in their favor.

The possibility of the case reaching the Supreme Court is not off the table, especially if it raises constitutional questions about freedom of the press versus the right to a fair electoral process.

In the meantime, the lawsuit continues to attract national attention, with both legal scholars and political strategists watching closely. It is a case that touches on fundamental questions of power, truth, and the role of media in a democracy.

And in classic Trump fashion, the president is refusing to retreat. He is making it clear that he expects accountability, transparency, and justice — not only for himself but for the millions of Americans who, in his words, have been “misled by a dishonest media for far too long.”

Whether Paramount Global ultimately agrees to the terms Trump is demanding remains to be seen. What is certain, however, is that the president has no intention of backing down or allowing the matter to be quietly swept aside.

With the merger looming, the stakes are higher than ever for CBS News, and the spotlight is only growing brighter. For Trump and his team, this is not merely a legal skirmish — it is a defining stand for media fairness in an age where, as he often says, “the fake news is the enemy of the people.”