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President Donald Trump says he will remain uninvolved in the Netflix–Paramount Skydance scramble over Warner Bros. Discovery, reversing earlier comments that hinted he might personally intervene in the deal. In an exclusive interview on “NBC Nightly News” with Tom Llamas on Wednesday, Trump said: “I haven’t been involved. I must say, I guess I’m considered to be a very strong president. I’ve been called by both sides. It’s the two sides, but I’ve decided I shouldn’t be involved. The Justice Department will handle it.”
Pressed about the competing arguments around the deal, Trump acknowledged the sharp divide between the bidders.
“There’s a theory that one of the companies is too big and it shouldn’t be allowed to do it, and the other company is saying something else,” he said. “They’re beating the hell out of each other — and there’ll be a winner.”
In December, Netflix announced a $72 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s film studio, along with HBO and the HBO Max streaming service. Paramount Skydance pursued a competing bid for the broader company, including its cable networks.
Paramount Skydance is led by David Ellison, the son of Larry Ellison, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle and a prominent supporter of Trump. The Ellisons are the controlling shareholders of Paramount.
Trump has maintained a close relationship with Larry Ellison, a dynamic that has drawn attention as the bidding war over Warner Bros. Discovery has intensified.
After Warner Bros. Discovery rejected Paramount’s offers in favor of Netflix’s proposal, the Ellison-run company escalated its effort into a hostile takeover attempt, prompting Netflix to amend its bid to an all-cash offer widely seen as a move to fend off rival interest.
In December, Trump publicly questioned whether a transaction between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery would be approved, citing concerns about market concentration.
“They have a very big market share,” Trump said in December. “When they have Warner Bros., that share goes up a lot.” He added that he would consult economists and said, “I’ll be involved in that decision.”
Trump’s decision to step back could be seen as favorable to Netflix, which already has a deal in place. It also comes against the backdrop of his past public criticism of major media companies, including repeated attacks on Warner-owned CNN and calls for the network to change ownership — even though CNN is not included in Netflix’s proposed acquisition.
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders could vote on Netflix’s proposed acquisition as early as March, according to CNBC, though any deal would still require approval from the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and regulators abroad, including the European Commission.
