Trump’s Warner Bros meddling pushes limits of power

WASHINGTON – Hollywood has a rich history of personal vendettas, political discord and uncertain loyalties shaping the industry.

It just usually doesn’t involve the US President.

Mr Donald Trump’s declaration that he will involve himself in the

proposed sale of Warner Bros

Discovery has thrust an already tumultuous battle between Netflix and Paramount Skydance over some of the crown jewels of Tinseltown into uncharted waters. 

The decision to inject himself is particularly extraordinary given Mr Trump’s own conflicts and interests, according to legal experts.

Mr Trump has already signalled one personal precondition for a sale: new ownership of long-time bogeyman CNN, in a bid to exert more favourable coverage from the cable network.

But the connections don’t stop there. Mr Trump’s son-in-law and former aide, Mr Jared Kushner, has helped arrange financing for Paramount chief David Ellison, whose father, Mr Larry Ellison, is a long-time Trump donor and supporter. 

The President has received entreaties from both sides. Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos has mounted a charm offensive of his own, meeting repeatedly with Mr Trump and even chatting about how the first family were “big fans” of the streamer.

Taken together, it’s a staggering break from a traditionally staid approval process usually under the purview of Justice Department officials, leaving executives and shareholders to navigate a deal that may be decided on political considerations as much as market mechanics. Those factors also hand legal ammunition to critics who say he is prejudicing the outcome.

Mr Trump’s comments – coming well before Warner Bros shareholders vote on Paramount’s offer, much less a formal antitrust review – are the latest example of the President’s efforts to stretch the bounds of his authority and shrink the power of independent federal agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission.

During his second term, Mr Trump has moved rapidly to wield executive power to reshape global trade and US industry. That dynamic has put him at the centre of government consideration of business decisions, incentivising corporate executives to curry favour with Mr Trump in order to win approval for high-profile moves.

Experts say the President’s involvement in the Warner Bros sale risks blurring the lines between his personal interests and the government’s regulatory scrutiny of issues such as market concentration. Antitrust lawyers say Mr Trump’s approach also threatens to undermine any sale, clouding the Justice Department’s review and making any government authorisation more vulnerable to legal attacks.  

Media attacks

For Mr Trump, the Warner Bros sale marks a golden opportunity to reshape the landscape of mainstream media, which he has long criticised. Mr Trump reserved special antipathy for CNN, which along with the company’s other cable assets was not included in the Netflix deal. Paramount, on the other hand, is vying for all of Warner Bros’ properties. 

Upon taking control of CBS News earlier in 2025, Mr Ellison hired anti-woke media figure Bari Weiss to be its editor-in-chief. Mr Trump expressed hope for a similar management shake-up if Paramount takes control of CNN, or if the network was spun off.

US law bars acquisitions or mergers that may “substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly”. Mr Trump’s comments on Dec 9 focused on those considerations, saying he wanted to see details on the potential market share for both Paramount and Netflix. But a day later, he offered his musings about CNN. 

Legal risks

State attorneys-general, who can file their own antitrust actions, could seize on Mr Trump’s comments to challenge any federal government greenlight of a sale. The remarks also could provide fodder for legal challenges by any company involved in the process if they are aggrieved by the final decision.

The implications also could extend to the European Union, galvanising the bloc’s own antitrust enforcement efforts. As it stands, Paramount’s support from Middle Eastern sources bankrolling US$24 billion of the buyout could pique further interest from Brussels watchdogs under strict foreign subsidies rules.

Mr Trump has been vocal about mergers before; during the his first term, as AT&T sought to purchase Time Warner, the President lobbed frequent criticisms at CNN. The Justice Department sought to block the sale, though federal courts eventually allowed it.

Here, it appears even a more efficient merger could be “blocked or denied because of the political interest of the administration”, said Ms Ann Lipton, a professor at the University of Colorado Law School. 

“Normally shareholders would just ask which offers better value, not who is closer personally to the Trump administration,” Ms Lipton said. “The concerns about any kind of merger should be the effect on the industry, markets and labour.” BLOOMBERG