President Donald Trump has hit back at claims that he’s chummy with the owners of a news network he loves to hate.
Trump, 79, distanced himself from his wealthy pals at Paramount Skydance, owner of CBS News and the president’s deeply despised 60 Minutes, in a Truth Social rant on Tuesday.
“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. If they are friends, I’d hate to see my enemies!” he wrote.
CBS News and Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Trump has long been unhappy with the iconic newsmagazine show, particularly over an October 2024 episode with Kamala Harris that he repeatedly claims was unfairly edited to make his opponent appear more favorable to viewers. That long-running feud ended with Paramount bending the knee and paying Trump $16 million to settle his lawsuit over the interview.
But when Trump ally David Ellison, 42, became the new sheriff at CBS following a Paramount-Skydance Media merger that closed in August, the president expressed hope that the powerful family of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, 81, would “revitalize” the network.
“They’re friends of mine. They’re big supporters of mine,” Trump said in October. “They will make the right decisions. They’re going to revitalize CBS—hopefully, they’ll bring it back to its former glory.”
Trump also appeared to approve of Bari Weiss, the MAGA-curious founder of The Free Press, who was elevated to editor-in-chief of the venerated news network in October.
“I think you have a great, new leader, frankly, ’cause the young woman that’s leading your whole enterprise is a great—from what I know. I don’t know her, but I hear she’s a great person,” Trump told 60 Minutes last month. “I see good things happening in the news. I really do. And I think one of the best things to happen is this show and new ownership, CBS and new ownership.”
After Trump sat down for a 90-minute interview with Norah O’Donnell, CBS aired a 28-minute version and released an extended 73-minute cut online. A full transcript, however, revealed that the network left out Trump’s testy exchange with O’Donnell over his pardon of a crypto billionaire.
Paramount also installed Kenneth Weinstein as ombudsman for CBS News in September. Trump named Weinstein as his ambassador to Japan in 2020, but the nomination expired without Senate confirmation.
Trump’s goodwill with CBS appears to be running thin, thanks in part to 60 Minutes interviewing Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene after their bitter MAGA breakup.
“My real problem with the show, however, wasn’t the low IQ traitor, it was that the new ownership of 60 Minutes, Paramount, would allow a show like this to air,” he wrote on Truth Social. “THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP, who just paid me millions of Dollars for FAKE REPORTING about your favorite President, ME! Since they bought it, 60 Minutes has actually gotten WORSE! Oh well, far worse things can happen.”
Trump also claimed neutrality in the Netflix vs. Paramount bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, even as he insisted that he wants to see new ownership at CNN, which is owned by the media conglomerate.
“I know the companies very well. I know what they’re doing, but I have to see. I have to see what percentage of market they have. We have to see the Netflix percentage of market, Paramount, the percentage of market,” he said. “I mean, none of them are particularly great friends of mine. You know, I just want to do what’s right. It’s so very important to do what’s right.”
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