The high-stakes fight to buy one of Hollywood’s biggest prizes — Warner Bros. Discovery — has now caught President Donald Trump’s eye. And he’s signaling he may try to influence how it all ends, especially as he sees parts of the deal intersecting with his own interests.
On Sunday night, Trump announced he would be “involved” in the regulatory review of Netflix’s proposed $72 billion deal to buy a large part of Warner Bros. Discovery. Normally, the White House keeps its distance in these cases.
But early the next morning, Paramount jumped in with a hostile takeover bid of its own, openly pointing to what it called the “challenging regulatory approval process” Netflix would likely face.
A few hours later, Trump declined to take sides.
“None of them are particularly great friends of mine,” he said from the Cabinet Room. “I want to do what’s right.”
Even without choosing a winner, Trump is putting himself squarely in the center of a corporate battle that could reshape Hollywood, streaming, and the American news landscape.
Allies, Rivals, and Quiet Backchannels
Trump might say he’s neutral, but the story is more complicated.
He has long-standing ties to Larry Ellison, the Oracle billionaire whose son, David Ellison, took over as CEO of Paramount this year after merging Skydance Media into the company. A senior White House official confirmed that Larry Ellison and Trump have talked about the idea of a Paramount acquisition.
Meanwhile, Paramount’s SEC filing revealed a surprising twist: Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, is a financial backer of Paramount’s takeover effort through his private equity firm. Trump insisted Monday he never discussed the matter with him.
Inside the White House, aides have been openly speculating for weeks about who might buy Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, which went up for sale earlier this fall.
Some officials privately discussed how a Paramount takeover could change CNN’s leadership — even imagining a newsroom led by journalist Bari Weiss, who recently took over CBS, also owned by Paramount. Trump has repeatedly signaled he’d welcome a leadership shake-up at CNN, a frequent target of his criticism.
David Ellison didn’t dispute any of this on Monday on CNBC, saying only, “I don’t want to speak for [Trump].”
Trump’s Mixed Messages Keep Everyone Guessing
But Trump’s loyalties weren’t as clear-cut as they seemed. Later on Monday, he suddenly lashed out at Paramount, accusing the company of mishandling CBS’s iconic “60 Minutes” program.
“THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP,” he posted on Truth Social, referencing the $16 million settlement CBS paid him this year to settle a lawsuit. “Since they bought it, 60 Minutes has actually gotten WORSE!”
According to one person familiar with the matter, Trump wasn’t making a statement about Paramount’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery — he was upset that 60 Minutes had given Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene a platform while he remains in a public feud with her.
At the same time, Trump had warm praise for Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, calling him a “great person” after a private Oval Office meeting.
Netflix’s offer would carve out CNN and other cable channels into a separate new company, Discovery Global, while purchasing Warner Bros.’ studio and streaming operations.
“He’s done one of the greatest jobs in the history of movies,” Trump said of Sarandos. One source added that Trump regularly marvels in private about how Sarandos has “turned Netflix around.”
But even that praise had a caveat. Trump warned that Netflix might end up with “a lot of market share,” hinting that the deal could raise antitrust concerns.
Politics Meets Antitrust — a Rare Mix
Under normal circumstances, merger decisions go through long Justice Department reviews with little political involvement. But this deal is increasingly being viewed through a political lens.
A senior White House official said Trump appears genuinely undecided — his opinion seems to shift depending on whom he talked to last. All major players have spoken with him.
Still, he’s not hiding the fact that he plans to take part in the final decision.
“They have a very big market share,” Trump said Sunday at the Kennedy Center Honors. “And when they have Warner Bros., that share goes up a lot… I’ll be involved in that decision, too.”
Ellison’s Influence and Conservative Pushback
Larry Ellison, a major GOP donor who once held a Trump fundraiser at his home, maintains a close relationship with the Trump White House, sources said. That connection, combined with the belief among some Trump allies that Paramount owning CNN could benefit the president politically, led many to assume Paramount would get smoother regulatory treatment.
The moment Netflix announced its plan, prominent conservative influencers immediately attacked the potential deal, claiming it would expand “woke” influence because Barack and Michelle Obama have a production agreement with Netflix.
But Trump himself stayed noncommittal on Monday.
“I know the companies very well. I know what they’re doing,” he said. “But I have to see.”
