Donald Trump weighed in again on the potential sale of Warner Bros. Discovery, this time by saying that he opposes any plan in which the company continues to own CNN.
Trump told reporters Wednesday that there were “some good companies bidding on it.”
“I think the people that have run CNN for the last, long period of time are a disgrace,” Trump said. “I think it’s imperative that CNN be sold, because you certainly wouldn’t want to put people, just leave those people with some money, good money, and CNN, so that they can spend even more money spreading poison, because it’s lies. It’s a disgrace.
“So I wouldn’t want to see the same company end up with CNN, the same company with money, because right now, they don’t have too much money. But they have value, I guess, based on the bids … But I think I think CNN should be sold because I think the people that are running CNN right now … are either corrupt or incompetent.”
Under the terms of Netflix’s deal with WBD, CNN and other cable networks would be spun off into their own entity, while the streaming giant would buy the film and TV studio, HBO and HBO Max.
Paramount’s hostile bid is for all of Warner Bros Discovery including CNN, something that has generated some angst at the cable news network. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Paramount CEO David Ellison told Trump administration officials that he would make major changes to CNN. There’s also anxiety at CBS News over what that would mean for the news division under the same corporate umbrella as CNN.
Trump has long targeted CNN over its reporting, even more than other outlets that he has routinely bashed over journalism he disfavors. He’s also said that he would be “involved” in the government decision whether to approve a deal, publicly defying a long tradition in which presidents have tried to show an arm’s length to Justice Department and regulatory reviews of transactions.
During Trump’s first term, when AT&T sought to purchase Time Warner, the president also reportedly objected to the deal as it included CNN. When the Justice Department blocked the merger, AT&T and Time Warner sued, and sought discovery over White House influence. A judge denied that request but ended up siding with AT&T and Time Warner in closing the merger.
