Trump Claims Mental Anguish in $20B CBS Interview Lawsuit Amid Paramount Merger Talks

President Donald Trump has filed a $20 billion lawsuit against CBS News and its parent company Paramount Global, alleging that the editing of a "60 Minutes" interview with Vice President Kamala Harris was deceptively manipulated to favor Harris, causing Trump mental anguish, reputational harm, and financial damage. Trump's legal team argues that the edited interview misled viewers and violated Texas consumer protection laws, while CBS maintains the edits were for brevity and denies any wrongdoing. Paramount has called the lawsuit baseless and an affront to the First Amendment but has engaged in settlement talks, offering Trump $15 million, which he rejected in favor of at least $25 million and a public apology. The lawsuit has created internal tensions at CBS, leading to the resignations of executives including the "60 Minutes" executive producer and CBS News president, who opposed settling with Trump. Paramount is motivated to resolve the lawsuit as it requires approval from the Trump administration for an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, but negotiations have stalled recently. Trump’s legal team additionally claims that CBS’s actions harmed his status as a content creator and competitor in the media landscape, particularly affecting his platform Truth Social.