Jim Jordan Stunned by '60 Minutes' Question From Lesley Stahl

Ohio congressman Jim Jordan appeared to stumble in his response after being challenged on the 2020 election results during a 60 Minutes interview on CBS.

Jordan, one of the staunchest supporters of Donald Trump in the House, was discussing the upcoming Supreme Court decision on whether the federal government can force social media companies to censure its content in order to combat misinformation.

During his interview with 60 Minutes' Lesley Stahl, Jordan said it should be up to the American people to "figure out what's accurate" online. Stahl then asked if this should include the false claim that the 2020 election was "stolen" from Trump due to widespread voter fraud.

Jordan said that he did not think the last election was stolen but there were "concerns" about the results and that "Americans agree with that." Stahl then interrupted Jordan to say that most Americans do not question whether President Joe Biden "won or not, right?" resulting in Jordan giving a long pause before adding, "Oh, OK."

Context

On Monday, the Supreme Court is set to rule on a case involving the states of Missouri and Louisiana, along with five individual social media users, who sued the Biden administration over claims it violated the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment free speech rights of users whose posts were removed from sites such as Facebook and X, formerly Twitter.

The issue on the practice known as "jawboning," in which the government essentially pressures a private company to act how it wants, will rule on whether U.S. government officials went too far in putting pressure on platforms to moderate content such as misinformation related to COVID-19, or whether such moves are justified when the content is harmful or dangerous.

Trump and Biden will face off against each other for a second time in November in the race for the White House. Trump still frequently pushes the false claim that the 2020 election was "rigged" against him due to voter fraud.

What We Know

During his interview on 60 Minutes, Jordan argued that the tech companies shouldn't be forced to remove posts which the government considers misinformation.

"I think you let the American people, respect the American people, their common sense, to figure out what's accurate, what isn't," Jordan said.

Stahl then said if this includes allowing people to falsely state that the 2020 election was "stolen" from Trump.

"I've not said that," Jordan said. "What I've said is there were concerns about the 2020 election. I think Americans agree with that."

Stahl replied "no they don't," to which Jordan asked whether she is disagreeing that people did have "concerns" about the last election results.

"Most people don't question the result," Stahl said. "That's all I'm saying. They don't question whether Biden won or not. Right? Right? Most people don't question the outcome."

After Stahl clarified what she was saying, Jordan paused and replied, "Oh, OK. No...right."

Jordan's office has been contacted for comment via email.

Views

Gale Sinatra, professor of psychology and the Stephen H. Crocker Professor of Education at USC Rossier School of Education in California, said: "This is completely disingenuous. It's not about being 'smart.' Mis and disinformation are difficult to identify by design. He just wants to continue to flood the zone with misinformation without moderation."

Adam Cohen, attorney and vice chair of Lawyers for Good Government, said: "Why do shows like 60 Minutes continue providing a platform for serial lying election deniers like Jim Jordan.

"They know they're being complicit in the potential destruction of American democracy. Are they that worried about their ratings?"

What's Next?

The Supreme Court will make a ruling on Monday, March 25, on how far the federal government can go to combat controversial social media posts.

During a previous hearing to listen to arguments on the issue, justices on the nation's highest court appeared to be leaning towards favoring the Biden administration.

Correction 3/25/24, 4:05 a.m. ET: This article was updated to correct the spelling of Lesley Stahl.