Netflix’s pending megadeal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery is getting a lot of pushback in and outside of Hollywood, with a number of critics and experts saying that it could reshape or harm the entertainment industry in myriad ways. And the fight is far from over: Paramount Skydance is attempting a hostile takeover of WBD to block the deal. The war for Warners also has some pretty serious political implications, considering all the antitrust concerns, and because President Trump says he expects to be involved and both sides are vying for his favor. That includes Paramount’s Larry and David Ellison, longtime Trump allies who have already lined up Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners as one of their financial backers. How much regulation any deal is ultimately subject to and how much Trump intervenes remains to be seen; below is some collected commentary, reporting, and analysis on how that side of the saga might play out.

As the New York Post reported last week:

Ellison met with Trump officials and key lawmakers in Washington DC on Wednesday to press his case against Warner Bros. Discovery’s potential selection of Netflix as its merger partner — even as the streaming giant submitted a higher offer in the latest round of bidding, The Post has learned. …

Ellison was in Washington with his legal team headed by Makan Delrahim, Trump’s former DOJ antitrust chief, sources said. They underscored in conversations with Trump officials and lawmakers in Congress why Netflix’s proposed deal to acquire its Warner Bros. studio and HBO Max streaming service should be throttled on antitrust grounds, sources said. 

Per The Wall Street Journal:

During a visit to Washington in recent days, David Ellison offered assurances to Trump administration officials that if he bought Warner, he’d make sweeping changes to CNN, a common target of President Trump’s ire, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has told people close to him that he wants new ownership of CNN as well as changes to CNN programming.

Adds the Financial Times:

Ellison did not make any firm promises but people involved said it was made clear that, under Paramount’s ownership, CBS and CNN would not be acting as what some Republicans perceive as a “branch of the [media] resistance” against Trump. Another person familiar with Paramount’s pitch said the Ellisons saw CNN as a useful card to play to try to win WBD, by swaying Trump to support its offer. “CNN is politically toxic in the US and they saw themselves as the group that could solve that,” the person said. “Trump doesn’t care about streaming; he cares about CNN. Paramount needed CNN in the deal, everyone else wanted it out.”  

CNN’s Brian Stelter explains how Sarandos has been courting Trump’s favor:

Sarandos forged a personal relationship with Trump shortly after the 2024 election, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.

The two men had a long, friendly dinner at Mar-a-Lago in December 2024. That meant Sarandos had an open line of communication to Trump when Netflix entered the bidding war for Warner Bros. and HBO.

Sarandos flew to Washington and met with Trump in the Oval Office last month, the source said, confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg.

Trump then........

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