‘60 Minutes’ of misplaced schadenfreude
Never mind the nonsense. What’s important is that Trump hasn’t wavered from his backing of Israel and tough stance against Hamas.
By Ruthie Blum
JNS
Oct 19, 2025
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are interviewed by Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes
Israeli oppositionists have been gloating over a preview of an upcoming interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes” with U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner—two key architects of the Gaza hostage-release-ceasefire deal.
The interview, to be aired in full on Sunday evening (early Monday morning, Israel time) was conducted by Lesley Stahl.
Asked about Israel’s Sept. 9 surprise strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar, Witkoff replied, “We woke up the next morning to find out that there had been this attack.”
Stahl rolled her exaggerated deer-in-the-headlight eyes heavenward.
“Wow,” she said.
Witkoff continued, “And, of course, I was called by the president.”
“You had no idea, obviously,” Stahl responded.
“None whatsoever,” he retorted, adding, “You know, I think both Jared and I felt, I just feel we felt a little bit betrayed.”
Stahl went on to say she’d heard that Trump “was furious.”
Kushner responded, “I think he felt like the Israelis were getting a little bit out of control in what they were doing, and that it was time to be very strong and stop them from doing things that he felt were not in their long-term interests.”
Stahl: “People should understand that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, the Israelis, bombed the peacemakers. Bombed the negotiating team.”
Really? People should understand that?
Rather than call out this outrageous assertion and outright lie—since the strike was aimed specifically at Hamas leaders supported, funded and coddled by those very “negotiators”—Witkoff, nodding, took it a step further.
“By the way, Lesley, it had a metastasizing effect, because the Qataris were critical to the negotiation, as were the Egyptians and the Turks. And we had lost the confidence of the Qataris. And, so, Hamas went underground, and it was very, very difficult to get to them.”
Talk about a jaw-dropping distortion. After all, if the Egyptians, Turks and Qataris hadn’t been against Israel throughout the war, the hostages would have been home a lot sooner.
Furthermore, Hamas “went underground” after the attack due to the realization that Israel meant business about hunting down its leaders and members wherever they may take refuge. They hadn’t been on the verge of capitulation, at that point.
On the contrary, they played their cards as though they had the upper hand. And, as long as they were holding and torturing dozens of innocent captives, they continued to call the shots.
The strike in Doha, coupled with the surrounding of Gaza City—Hamas’s last untouched stronghold in the Strip—shifted all that. The former caused Qatar to beg for American guarantees for protection, which it received; the latter led the “negotiators” finally to apply pressure on Hamas.
Just look at the timeline: The attack in question took place on Sept. 9; the reaching of a deal was announced on Oct. 8; and every living hostage was back home on Oct. 13. Nevertheless, Witkoff joined Stahl in highlighting the opposite.
Now, it’s true that this exchange was part of a much longer interview. It’s also clear that it was chosen by CBS as a promo certain to garner global attention and clicks. Until the entire show is broadcast, viewers don’t know whether Witkoff and Kushner clarified their points in a direction more favorable to Netanyahu, whom Witkoff lauded last Saturday night at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.
“I was in the trenches with the prime minister,” he told the Israelis who booed when he mentioned Netanyahu.
“Believe me,” Witkoff assured, “he was a very important part here. The prime minister and his staff, [Strategic Affairs Minister] Ron Dermer included, have both sacrificed so much for this country and devoted their lives to the service of Israel. Their dedication to the history and destiny of this nation stands out tonight. They’ve given everything: their time, their energy and their hearts to building a safer, stronger future for the Jewish people. Their commitment to this country has never wavered and it never will. We thank you. The president thanks you.”
That was nothing compared to the lengthy love-letter of a speech that Trump delivered at the Knesset the following day—as the remaining 20 live hostages were returning to Israel, and just before he flew to Sharm el-Sheikh to meet with Arab, Muslim and other world leaders rushing to get on America’s good side.
“I want to express my gratitude to a man of exceptional courage and patriotism, whose partnership did so much to make this momentous day possible,” Trump said. “You know who I’m talking about. There’s only one, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. … He’s not the easiest guy to deal with, but that’s what makes him great. That’s what makes him great. Thank you very much, Bibi. Great job.”
In this context, the comments by Witkoff and Kushner to Stahl made no sense. Unless, of course, they were integral to Trump’s agenda to expand the Abraham Accords with potential partners whose antipathy to Israel equals, if not surpasses, their desire for a protective umbrella and other goodies from Washington.
This is worse than unfortunate, not least because of the message it conveys to the “anybody but Bibi” demonstrators. These are the liars who continue to accuse Netanyahu of prolonging the war for his personal political benefit. Oh, and who insist that his arm was twisted into agreeing to Trump’s plan.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid gave gleeful voice to the slander. In a post on X on Saturday, he wrote, “The interview of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on ‘60 Minutes’ is an earthquake. For the first time, it was said openly: After the failed attack in Doha, Trump thought that Netanyahu had lost control and forced him into an agreement that Netanyahu didn’t want.”
Never mind the nonsense. What’s important is that Trump hasn’t wavered from his backing of Israel and tough stance against Hamas.
He’s been persistent in the demand that Hamas return all the remaining bodies of murdered hostages and relinquish its weapons. Naturally, neither condition for proceeding with the deal has been met.
All that matters now is how he reacts to emerging reports of renewed Israel Defense Forces airstrikes in Rafah, after Hamas terrorists fired an anti-tank missile at IDF engineering vehicles. It’s hard to imagine that won’t stand behind such actions.
We can’t say the same for the likes of Lapid and his ilk, however. They’re too busy basking in “60 Minutes” of misplaced schadenfreude.
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