Donald Trump is distancing himself even further from the Ellison family as they continue to push Paramount’s hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
Posting to his Truth Social account Tuesday, the president made it clear that the Ellisons are no friends of his. The family, who led Paramount to become the newest owners of CBS, have been pushing for a hostile takeover of WBD as Netflix nears closing a deal for the company’s streaming and studios assets.
“For those people that think I am close with the new owners of CBS, please understand that ’60 Minutes’ has treated me far worse since the so-called ‘takeover’ than they have ever treated me before,” Trump wrote. “If they are friends, I’d hate to see my enemies!”
Last week, Paramount CEO David Ellison went so far as to say if they were to acquire WBD he would do what he could to upend CNN, which Trump has said needed to be dismantled by new owners. Ellison reportedly made the claim as a way to earn the Trump administration’s approval. Ellison told multiple Trump administration officials he would demand changes to CNN if he acquired WBD’s assets, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Ellison laid out his plan for WBD and told CNBC’s David Faber that he sought to build “a scaled news service that is basically, fundamentally, in the trust business,” mirroring his vision for the Bari Weiss-led CBS News.
Trump’s latest Truth Social post is not the first time the president has lobbed skepticism and critiques at the Ellisons. Last Monday, he told reporters that none of WBD’s bidders were “particularly great friends of mine” and, in a Truth Social posts, lashed out at Paramount for airing a “60 Minutes” interview with Marjorie Taylor Greene.
“THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP, who just paid me millions of Dollars for FAKE REPORTING about your favorite President, ME!” Trump posted.
In related news, Trump’s latest post was followed by reports that son-in-law Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners has backed out of Paramount’s Warner Bros. Discovery bid.
The post Trump Diminishes Ellison Friendship as Paramount Pursues WBD: ‘If They Are Friends, I’d Hate to See My Enemies’ appeared first on TheWrap.
