Donald Trump is boasting that his settlement payout from Paramount Global could be worth more than double the agreed cash amount once “advertising” is factored in.
“We did a deal for about $16 million plus $16 million, or maybe more than that, in advertising,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. “So it’s a combination of 16 plus 16 plus. So it’s like $32 [million] to maybe $35 million.”
The New York Post reported on July 2 that Paramount Global agreed, as part of its settlement in the president’s lawsuit against CBS’ 60 Minutes over an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris, to run between $15 million and $20 million worth of pro-Trump ads across its networks once it is acquired by David Ellison’s Skydance Media.
Fox News also reported that the total payout from Paramount Global and CBS could top $30 million once “advertisements, public service announcements, or other similar transmissions in support of conservative causes by the network” are included.
However, Paramount Global has denied that the settlement—which has drawn fierce backlash from CBS News anchors—included any deal involving ad buys or PSAs.
“Contrary to some news reports or media speculation, Paramount’s settlement with President Trump does not include PSAs or anything related to PSAs,” the company said in a statement. “Paramount has no knowledge of any promises or commitments made to President Trump other than those set forth in the settlement proposed by the mediator and accepted by the parties.”
Trump’s legal team also made no mention of any advertising or PSA agreement in its statement saying the $16 million settlement shows the president managed to hold the “fake news media accountable for their wrongdoing and deceit.”
Paramount did agree that 60 Minutes will now release transcripts of interviews with eligible U.S. presidential candidates after those interviews have aired, redacted only for legal or security reasons where appropriate. The company stressed that the settlement does not include a “statement of apology or regret.”
Trump had accused 60 Minutes of deceptively editing clips of Harris answering questions about the Biden administration’s relationship with Israel to make her appear more favorable and coherent. He claimed one clip aired on CBS’s Face the Nation, while a more polished version of Harris’ response was shown on 60 Minutes.
CBS has maintained there was nothing improper about the editing, which it said was done for brevity as is standard in broadcasting.
Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Trump continued to slam the network’s editorial choices.
“One of the most important questions—maybe the most important question—she gave a horrible answer to it. So they took an answer from another part of the interview, and they inserted it,” Trump said. “Nobody has ever seen that before.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for further comment from The Daily Beast.
