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‘60 Minutes’ Roasted for MAGA-Friendly Hegseth Appearance

The newsmagazine wasted no time showing where its loyalties lie during its season premiere.

60 Minutes was torched online over its softball interview with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during its season premiere.

The legendary newsmagazine put Donald Trump’s Pentagon front and center in its Season 59 premiere Sunday night after Trump-friendly CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss instituted sweeping changes to the program.

A segment about the U.S. military’s rescue of a weapons systems officer stranded in Iran, reported by Norah O’Donnell, drew particular online scrutiny over her interview with the self-styled “Secretary of War.”

“Pathetic 60 Minutes, you tried so hard to make Pete Hegseth look like a brave, heroic leader. It looks like a total propaganda piece,” one user wrote in response to a clip of the segment shared on X.

“You asked him 100% softballs. No pushback. Pathetic. Propaganda,” said another.

“Wow. riveting stuff from a bunch of sellouts. do yourself a favor y’all and turn this propaganda off,” another user said.

Justin Baragona, the media columnist at Zeteo, claimed a CBS News staffer told him of the segment: “Norah absolutely willing to play the part of dimwit reporter used as a propaganda tool. Baragona said a senior staffer at the network also told him, “The show is dead. We’re just looking at some Frankenstein of bits sewn together of mismatched pieces.”

CNN media analyst Brian Stelter asked his X followers for their opinions on the return of the Weiss-ified 60 Minutes, prompting many people to say they wouldn’t even watch it.

“No thanks,” one user replied to Stelter’s post. “Won’t be watching its transition into State TV.”

“Will never watch it again unless CBS makes major changes. It’s dead to me,” said another.

The Daily Beast reached out to CBS News for comment.

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Hegseth, 46, played a major role in the rescue segment’s airing, according to CNN, with multiple sources telling the outlet that the former Fox & Friends Weekend host and political appointees at the Pentagon personally pushed the two F-15 crew members to appear on the program.

The defense secretary sat down with the two survivors, referred to by their call signs Alpha and Bravo, to ask whether they wanted to participate, the outlet reported. Bravo, the weapons-systems officer, agreed to be interviewed while the pilot, Alpha, declined.

The service member recalled his harrowing experience being behind enemy lines, recounting that he had provided proof of life back home with the message “God is good.” Hegseth reiterated the message after the program shared a clip Sunday night.

Besides Hegseth and Bravo, Gen. Dan Caine and Adm. Brad Cooper gave interviews to O’Donnell for Sunday’s segment.

The Pentagon’s cooperation with the MAGA-fied show didn’t go unnoticed.

Alex Marquardt, a former CNN and ABC News journalist now with Al Jazeera English, wrote on X, “The Pentagon rolled out the red carpet for this 60 Minutes piece: Sec Hegseth, Gen Caine, Adm Cooper + the weapons systems specialist all sat down with Norah O’Donnell.”

Also featured in Sunday night’s premiere broadcast was former Trump pardon attorney Ed Martin, who was grilled by veteran correspondent Lesley Stahl in a segment that felt much more reminiscent of the classic 60 Minutes.

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Vic VerbalaitisNight Breaking News Reporter

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