Trump says ‘any deal’ to buy Warner Bros should include CNN

president Donald Trump He insisted on Wednesday that CNN would be part of any sale to Warner Bros. Studios.

“I think the people who have run CNN for the last long period are a disgrace,” Trump told reporters from the White House on Wednesday. “I think it’s necessary to be CNN It was sold because you certainly don’t want to put people on, just leave these people some money, good money at CNN, so they can, you know, spend more money spreading poison because it’s lies. It’s a disgrace. So, I don’t want to see The same company ended up with CNN.

““I think CNN should be sold because I think the people running CNN now…are either corrupt or incompetent.”

CNN employees fear ‘UTTER S— SHOW’ in network’s future if Paramount buys WARNER BROS DISCOVERY: Insiders

President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion with business leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on December 10, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

While he acknowledged that he could talk about wanting to sell CNN to Warner Bros., Trump asserted that those who were running CNN “knocked CNN down to the ground.”

“Nobody’s watching. Very few people are watching. I don’t think they should be run CNN anymore,” Trump said. “So, I think any deal should be a guarantee and certainty that CNN is part of it or sold separately. But I don’t think the people who are running this company right now and running CNN, which is a very dishonest group of people, I don’t think that should be allowed to continue. I think CNN should be sold along with everything else.”

Paramount launches hostile takeover bid for WARNER BROS DISCOVERY, says bid is ‘better’ than Netflix deal

Among the potential buyers, Netflix has bid for just the studio and HBO, while Paramount is seeking all of CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.

Warner Bros. did not respond. Discovery nor Netflix requested Fox News Digital for comment. A CNN spokesperson declined to comment.

Trump insisted CNN should be part of “any deal” amid a bidding war for Warner Bros. Studios. (Elijah Novelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In October, Warner Bros. announced Discovery is offering itself for sale. It previously said it would split into two companies — one for the studio and HBO, and the other the cable networks under the corporate umbrella.

Before Netflix emerged last week as the victor in the bidding war, Paramount owner David Ellison appeared to be in the driver’s seat, but the streaming giant beat it out on Friday with its nearly $83 billion bid. Paramount on Monday launched a hostile takeover bid worth $108 billion for the entire company, including its cable assets such as CNN.

Trump’s comments are likely to cloud the bidding war because his administration could pose an obstacle to both Netflix and Paramount buying Warner Bros.

TRUMP WARNS THAT NETFLIX-WARNER BROS DISCOVERY DEAL COULD BE A PROBLEM, SAYS HE WILL BE “INVOCATE” IN THE DECISION

Warner Bros. Studios is located In the midst of a heated bidding war between Netflix and Paramount. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

CNN employees are largely “gloomy” about the prospects of CNN being owned by Ellison, who has a close relationship with Trump.

Network insiders say their colleagues worry that Ellison will overhaul CNN’s editorial decisions the way he did with CBS News by appointing Barry Weiss as its editor-in-chief.

“They look at CBS as a complete and utter show, which is what it was before, to be honest,” a CNN employee said. Fox News DigitalThey admitted that “our organization also suffers from chaos and crises.”

Senate prepares for ‘intensive’ antitrust hearing in wake of NETFLIX and WARNER BROS deal

In August, Ellison acquired Paramount as part of its $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. The deal was plagued by politics as Paramount settled Trump’s election interference lawsuit against the company over CBS News’ handling of the 60 Minutes interview with the vice president. Kamala Harris.

Liberal critics accused Paramount of “kneeling” to Trump in order to get the FCC to approve the merger. They also expressed their anger CANCEL CBS from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which will go off the air after May 2026. The network insisted it was purely a financial decision, though critics believe it was also related to the FCC-approved merger.

Paramount owner David Ellison has made a $108 billion hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery as a whole, which includes CNN. (Charlie Tripalo/AFP via Getty Images)

During an interview with CNBC on Monday, Ellison was asked if he would combine the newsgathering operations of CNN and CBS News. He dodged the question, speaking instead about the broader goal he has regarding news, which is to get into the “trust” and “truth business” that “speaks to the middle 70% of Americans,” a sentiment previously echoed by Weiss.

However, The Wall Street Journal I mentioned That Ellison told Trump officials that he would make sweeping changes to CNN if he became its owner and that Trump had been vocal about his desire for CNN to gain new ownership that would make programming changes.

“I think everyone wants to be fair,” another CNN employee said. “I don’t think so [CNN colleagues] Look at Ellison as trying to target the political center. “I think they think he submits to Trump.”

Trump has so far taken a more stringent approach in dealing with the bidding war, despite his close relationship with Ellison and his father, billionaire Larry Ellison. Last week, Trump praised Netflix as a “great company” and described its CEO, Ted Sarandos, as a “terrific guy,” but expressed concern about its market share.

On Monday, he declined to say he supports Paramount’s bid despite it being partly funded by his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s private equity firm, Affinity Partners, something Trump told reporters he had not discussed with Kushner.

Meanwhile Trump Paramount criticized During a “60 Minutes” interview with ally-turned-enemy Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, she wrote on Truth Social that the new monarchy “is no better than the old monarchy.”

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