Scott Pelley was from 60 Min, Says CBS is On Fire

 Scott Pelley: CBS News ‘Is on Fire’

In an exclusive interview, Scott Pelley defended himself against accusations from President Trump and said there was “a subtle political bias” in the new management at “60 Minutes.”

President Trump reacted to your being fired. – Did he? – He went on a podcast and called you a stiff. – I’m surprised that the President of the United States would bother to notice, but OK. Please, tell me, I’m not aware of this. – He also said you were part of this gang of stupid, crooked people that don’t care about your country. – Stupid? I can, I can take that. Stiff? Yeah, probably. Don’t care about the country? I’ve never worn the uniform. But I’ve been in combat for this country, in Afghanistan and Iraq. Kuwait. Been shot at. Spent nights in foxholes filling up with water in the desert. I’m not aware that the President of the United States has ever done any of those things for his country. Please correct me if I’m wrong. You become a journalist because you love the First Amendment. You become a journalist because you love the country. And while all the other descriptions, that the president used about me might be applicable. Not that one. There is no democracy without journalism. It can’t be done. And that is why I am a journalist. – What do you hope your departure does? What do you hope will happen now? – My hope is that the leadership of Paramount will say to themselves, OK, this isn’t working. We have respected journalists saying that there is a thumb on the scale for one political party over another. And there’s a subtle political bias that I’ve never seen at “60 Minutes” before or at CBS News before. We can save this. It’s possible to land this plane, but right now, CBS News, in my view, is on fire.