‘60 Minutes’ Holds Off on Trump Deportation Story After Last-Minute Editorial Order
CBS News’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday did not air a planned story examining Trump administration deportations of immigrants to El Salvador, pulling the segment just hours before broadcast at the direction of newly installed editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.
The report featured correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi speaking with deportees who had been sent to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison, but was held after Weiss sought to add perspective from the Trump administration, according to people familiar with the decision.
In an email sent to colleagues and reported by multiple media outlets, Alfonsi said she learned Saturday that the story would not air. She emphasized that the reporting was factually sound and had already cleared CBS attorneys and internal news standards reviews. “In my view, pulling it now — after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one,” Alfonsi wrote.
The abrupt shift, publicly announced just two hours before airtime, has intensified scrutiny of Weiss, the founder of the Free Press website who took over leadership of CBS News this fall following the sale of its parent company, Paramount Global. The decision comes at a moment when major broadcast newsrooms are increasingly navigating ownership changes, advertiser sensitivity, and political pressure.
Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized “60 Minutes.” He sued the program last fall over its interview with election opponent Kamala Harris, a case that was settled this summer, and has more recently complained about the show’s interview with former ally turned critic Marjorie Taylor Greene.
In a statement to The New York Times, Weiss defended the move, saying her responsibility is to ensure stories are fully developed before airing. “My job is to make sure that all the stories we publish are the best they can be,” she said. “Holding stories that aren’t ready for whatever reason — that they lack sufficient context, say, or that they are missing critical voices — happens every day in every newsroom.” Weiss added that she looks forward to airing Alfonsi’s piece “when it’s ready.”
