Bill Maher, host of HBO's Real Time, threw his weight behind the ouster of longtime 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley, dismissing suggestions that President Trump engineered the recent upheaval at CBS News.
During a Friday night panel discussion, Maher asked Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and former U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice for their take on the shakeup, then answered his own question: “I’m for it.” Maher said he “never liked” Pelley and argued that personnel shifts are routine when companies bring in new leadership.
“I just don’t think being a 60 Minutes correspondent is that hard. I don’t feel like Scott Pelley was a national treasure,” Maher said. “Companies change hands, people bring in their own people, their new ownership.” He added, “I feel like we see everything through such a partisan lens.”
Pelley was fired after nearly 30 years at the program following a heated staff meeting with new executive producer Nick Bilton. According to reports, Pelley questioned Bilton’s qualifications and accused CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of trying to “murder” the show.
Murphy pushed back on Maher’s view, arguing that Trump is using presidential power to pressure media companies, including Paramount Skydance, CBS’s parent company. “You’re watching a censorship state be created,” Murphy said. “Trump is using the powers that he has available as president of the United States to install only friendly ownership at the big media companies.” When Maher challenged that characterization, Murphy conceded the network hasn’t gone “completely MAGA” but insisted Trump is “clearly intent on installing people who will tell his story and keep his critics off air.”
Pelley’s dismissal came amid sweeping changes at CBS News under Paramount Skydance owner David Ellison, a Trump ally. Ellison tapped Weiss to lead the overhaul, including installing new leadership to execute her vision. Weiss told staff the firing stemmed from a breach of trust. “I’m only interested in working in a newsroom that is built on trust and mutual respect; we cannot do our work without it. That foundation was broken,” she said, according to a transcript of an editorial call reported by The New York Times.
Trump celebrated Pelley’s exit, calling him “terrible” and part of a “gang of crooked, stupid people that don’t care about our country.” The president’s comments came in a post-interview, as noted in coverage of his remarks.
The turmoil at 60 Minutes has drawn sharp reactions from veteran correspondents. Longtime figure Steve Kroft declared the show “no longer exists” after the mass firings, as reported. Meanwhile, correspondents Lesley Stahl, Scott Whitaker, and Sharyn Wertheim have pledged to stay amid the chaos, according to sources.
Weiss also faced backlash after abruptly pulling a planned 60 Minutes segment on El Salvador’s CECOT prison, which holds migrants deported by Trump, because the administration declined to provide on-the-record comments.
