Donald Trump Says CNN Should Be Sold as Part of Any Warner Bros. Discovery Deal Because the ‘People Running It’ Currently Are ‘Either Corrupt or Incompetent’

President Donald Trump, who has inserted himself into the U.S. government’s review of a deal for Warner Bros. Discovery, said it is “imperative” that CNN be sold as part of any deal Warner Bros. Discovery enters into — so that the news network is no longer under the current management team.

Trump’s comments signal that he may be opposed to Netflix’s blockbuster deal with Warner Bros. and in favor of Paramount Skydance’s rival offer.

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Under Netflix’s $82.7 billion deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, the streaming giant would acquire WB’s studios and HBO Max — but not any of WBD’s TV networks, which would be spun off into a new entity (dubbed Discovery Global) to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders. Paramount Skydance, headed by David Ellison, launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery in its entirety, including CNN and WBD’s other cable networks.

Trump, speaking Wednesday at a White House meeting, told reporters that as part of “any deal” for Warner Bros. Discovery, it “should be guaranteed and certain that CNN is part of it or sold separately.” The president said, “I think I think CNN should be sold because I think the people that are running CNN right now” are “either corrupt or incompetent.” Trump said he didn’t want the current CNN management to be rewarded by being allowed to continue running the network “with money” from a deal.

“I don’t think the people that are running that company right now and running CNN, which is a very dishonest group of people, I don’t think that should be allowed to continue,” Trump said. “I think CNN should be sold along with everything else.”

“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.”

“Trump has been trying to muzzle CNN for years,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) tweeted Wednesday. “Surprise, surprise: Paramount’s bid for Warner Bros. includes control over CNN — and is backed by Jared Kushner’s private equity firm and billions from Saudi Arabia. This reeks of corruption in service of squashing free speech.”

Under Paramount’s deal terms to acquire WBD, the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi and Kushner’s Affinity Partners are backing the $30/share offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, along with David Ellison’s father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison; RedBird Capital Partners; and Apollo Global Management. The Arab wealth funds and Kushner’s Affinity “have agreed to forgo any governance rights — including board representation — associated with their non-voting equity investments,” Paramount said in an SEC filing. According to Paramount, that means the deal would not require review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the government entity tasked with oversight and investigation of foreign investment in U.S. companies.

A CNN spokesperson declined to comment on Trump’s remarks. Warner Bros. Discovery did not respond to a request for comment.

During Trump’s first term, the Justice Department sued to block AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner on antitrust grounds. A federal judge ruled in favor of the companies and in February 2019 the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision. The DOJ lawsuit was reportedly motivated by Trump’s dislike of CNN.

Trump, at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C., on Sunday said he would be “involved” in the review of the Netflix-WB deal. Historically, U.S. presidents have not been officially part of any regulatory review process of an M&A transaction.

Trump, asked Monday at a White House briefing with reporters if he was in favor of Paramount’s rival bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, he responded, “I don’t know enough about it,” saying he has to look at how each proposed deal would impact Netflix and Paramount Skydance’s market share. Trump added, “I mean, none of them are particularly great friends of mine. You know, I want to do what’s right.”

Trump was asked if the involvement of Kushner’s Affinity Partners in the Paramount bid would influence the his opinion. Trump responded, “I’ve never spoken with him” about Paramount’s WBD bid.

In the past, Trump has boasted about his friendship with David Ellison and his father, the ultrawealthy tech mogul Larry Ellison. But on Monday, he lashed out at the Ellisons over a “60 Minutes” interview on CBS with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia), the one-time Trump supporter who has recently criticized the president on a range of issues. Trump complained in a Truth Social post that since the Ellisons bought Paramount, “60 Minutes has actually gotten WORSE!”