Media Trump speaks out in favor of selling CNN
US President Donald Trump wants the news channel CNN to find a new owner in the billion-euro deal for the media group Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN often reports critically about Trump.
11.12.2025, 11:19
SDA
He thinks it must be guaranteed that CNN will either be sold together with the rest of the group or separately, Trump said at a meeting in Washington. The president seemed to equate ownership and management: He did not think that the people who were now running the company and CNN should be allowed to continue.
The channel, which frequently denounces untruths said by Trump and features politicians with different views, spreads "poison" and "lies", he claimed.
Paramount also wants CNN, Netflix does not
Warner Bros. Discovery is the subject of a takeover battle between the streaming giant Netflix and the media group Paramount, which is now owned by the family of Trump supporter Larry Ellison. Paramount's backers include the investment firm Affinity Partners, owned by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Paramount wants to take over the entire group, including CNN and other TV channels, for 108.4 billion dollars (just under 94 billion euros). Netflix, on the other hand, reached an agreement with Warner management for an almost 83 billion dollar takeover of the studio and streaming business. The TV channels are to be spun off into an independent company.
"Arm of the Democratic Party"
Trump dislikes the idea that the current CNN management could continue with money from the studio sale. He considers the people who have run CNN in recent years to be a "disgrace", he said.
The president repeatedly accuses the network - as well as other media - of spreading false news about him and his administration. He told a CNN journalist at the event that she was working for an "arm of the Democratic Party".
There had been changes in the newsroom at Paramount broadcaster CBS following the takeover by the Ellison family. The Warner Bros. Discovery deal is likely to be scrutinized by Trump's Justice Department, which often conducts competitive examinations. He has already emphasized that he will be involved in a decision on the takeover - and said that Netflix's high market share in the streaming business could be "a problem". Netflix and Warner, on the other hand, said they were confident they could get the deal over the finishing line.
