President Trump has publicly called for CNN to be sold off as its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, navigates a huge bidding war between Netflix and Paramount, as per The Hill. The president told reporters at the White House that he thinks the sale of the cable news network is absolutely necessary.
This demand comes right in the middle of a major media shakeup. Either merger would create one of the largest media conglomerates on the planet, and you can bet they face intense questions of antitrust from lawmakers and the president’s government regulators. Both Netflix and Paramount have been actively lobbying the White House and President Trump directly to try and get support for their respective merger proposals.
The president has been vocal about his long-running displeasure with CNN’s news coverage, much like with another major network in the US. He stated clearly that he thinks CNN should be sold because “the people running CNN right now are either corrupt or incompetent.”
It seems that one of the bidders has already made a move to secure the president’s favor
Paramount executive David Ellison has reportedly told President Trump that if Paramount wins control of Warner Bros. Discovery, he would make sure to implement major editorial changes at CNN. This is a huge promise, and it shows you just how high the political stakes are in this corporate battle. It’s definitely worth noting that President Trump has publicly praised Ellison’s work in the past, specifically pointing to how he retooled CBS News after his family purchased the company earlier this year.
The bidding war itself is fierce. Warner Bros. Discovery announced just last week that it had reached an agreement with Netflix. That deal would see the streaming giant acquire the sprawling Warner Bros. movie and television studios. However, that agreement specifically leaves out the struggling linear cable assets, which include key properties like Turner Sports and, crucially, CNN.
Paramount quickly mounted a hostile counter-bid on Monday. This bid offers more money per share for Warner Bros. Discovery, which is already a massive incentive. Paramount’s pitch also includes all of the company’s assets, meaning CNN would be part of the package. This is a crucial difference, especially considering the president’s clear desire to see the network change hands.
The president believes that the people who have been running CNN have “run CNN into the ground,” and he doesn’t think they should be trusted to continue running the network any longer. If you’re looking at the future of the deal, President Trump made it clear that any final agreement should ensure that CNN is involved. He insisted that whatever deal goes forward, “it should be guaranteed and certain that CNN is part of it or sold separately.”
It looks like whichever conglomerate wins the right to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, they’re going to have to deal with the political fallout surrounding CNN first.
Published: Dec 11, 2025 03:00 pm