President Trump Backs Down on Warner Bros. Discovery Deal as He Shifts to Hands-Off Approach.
In a surprising turn of events, President Donald Trump said he won't intervene in the ongoing battle over Warner Bros. Discovery between Netflix and Paramount Skydance, marking a significant shift from his previous comments late last year. In an exclusive interview with NBC News anchor Tom Llamas, Trump stated that he has not been involved in the negotiations and is instead choosing to stay out of it.
"I've decided I shouldn't be involved," Trump said, attributing his decision to being called upon by both sides, presumably referring to the competing arguments surrounding the deal. He acknowledged the significant differences between the bidders but refused to comment further on the matter.
Trump's decision comes as Netflix and Paramount Skydance vie for control of Warner Bros. Discovery, a media conglomerate valued at over $90 billion. In December, Netflix announced a $72 billion deal to acquire the film studio, HBO, and HBO Max streaming service, sparking a bidding war with Paramount Skydance, which has been led by David Ellison – the son of Larry Ellison, a billionaire co-founder of Oracle.
During the interview, Trump expressed his concerns about market concentration but now appears willing to let the Justice Department handle the approval process. This shift could be seen as favorable to Netflix, which already has a deal in place and may benefit from Trump's hands-off approach.
It is worth noting that President Trump has shown a willingness to publicly comment on major corporate deals, including the proposed merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery. However, this time around, he seems to have taken a different approach, potentially due to his personal financial interests in the matter – as he recently disclosed purchasing up to $2 million worth of Netflix and Warner-related bonds.
The debate over the deal is ongoing, with lawmakers from both parties scrutinizing the proposal, particularly regarding concerns about consolidation and labor impacts. Despite these criticisms, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has defended the transaction, stating that it will expand competition rather than reduce it.
In a surprising turn of events, President Donald Trump said he won't intervene in the ongoing battle over Warner Bros. Discovery between Netflix and Paramount Skydance, marking a significant shift from his previous comments late last year. In an exclusive interview with NBC News anchor Tom Llamas, Trump stated that he has not been involved in the negotiations and is instead choosing to stay out of it.
"I've decided I shouldn't be involved," Trump said, attributing his decision to being called upon by both sides, presumably referring to the competing arguments surrounding the deal. He acknowledged the significant differences between the bidders but refused to comment further on the matter.
Trump's decision comes as Netflix and Paramount Skydance vie for control of Warner Bros. Discovery, a media conglomerate valued at over $90 billion. In December, Netflix announced a $72 billion deal to acquire the film studio, HBO, and HBO Max streaming service, sparking a bidding war with Paramount Skydance, which has been led by David Ellison – the son of Larry Ellison, a billionaire co-founder of Oracle.
During the interview, Trump expressed his concerns about market concentration but now appears willing to let the Justice Department handle the approval process. This shift could be seen as favorable to Netflix, which already has a deal in place and may benefit from Trump's hands-off approach.
It is worth noting that President Trump has shown a willingness to publicly comment on major corporate deals, including the proposed merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery. However, this time around, he seems to have taken a different approach, potentially due to his personal financial interests in the matter – as he recently disclosed purchasing up to $2 million worth of Netflix and Warner-related bonds.
The debate over the deal is ongoing, with lawmakers from both parties scrutinizing the proposal, particularly regarding concerns about consolidation and labor impacts. Despite these criticisms, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has defended the transaction, stating that it will expand competition rather than reduce it.
. Like, I know he said he shouldn't be involved, but come on, he was already invested in Netflix and Warner bonds for $2 million 
... that's some serious conflict of interest right there! And what about all those concerns about market concentration? You'd think he'd want to make sure the Justice Department is handling it, not just letting it slide 
. It sounds like this is a pretty strategic move by Netflix and their lawyers, trying to avoid any drama with Trump in the middle of it... but still, I'm no expert 
.
I'm low-key surprised Trump backed down on this deal. Like, he's been all over the place with his comments about Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix. You would think he'd want to stir up some drama or at least make a big splash about it. But nope! He's choosing to just chill now. I wonder if those $2 million bonds had something to do with it... maybe they made him realize this deal ain't worth all the controversy 
. Now that he's taking a hands-off approach, Netflix might actually get a chance to make it work. Fingers crossed for Ted Sarandos and his team! 
. It's not up to him to decide what's best for the media conglomerate or the market concentration 
. Let's see how this all plays out and hope it doesn't hurt competition in the end 
. Like, what's next? Him just walking away from the whole thing and letting Netflix and Paramount Skydance duke it out amongst themselves? 
It's clear he's got some skin in the game what with those bonds he recently bought... I'm not buying all this 'hands-off approach' nonsense, Trump's still trying to one-up his opponents 
. The Justice Department is gonna have a field day over this deal and Netflix knows it, they're probably just waiting for the other shoe to drop 
. Now that he's stepped back, I can see how this could be beneficial for Netflix - they already have a deal in place and Trump's hands-off approach might just help them secure the acquisition 
. It's also interesting that Trump's personal financial interests come into play here - all those bonds he bought up 
. But what really got me thinking is how this shows Trump might be getting a bit wiser with age... or maybe he just realized being the "devil's advocate" isn't always his strongest suit 
.
he's all about letting the experts handle it now instead of getting in the way which is literally what we need more of in politics - less drama and more calm decision making 
so fingers crossed for Netflix and Paramount Skydance too, can't wait to see how this all plays out 
i was so worried about trump being all involved in the deal and messing everything up, but instead he's choosing to stay out of it? what a huge win for netflix!!! 
by President Trump's decision to back down on the Warner Bros. Discovery deal! I mean, who would've thought he'd let the Justice Department handle everything? 
. Netflix is already taking advantage of this hands-off approach and it's gonna be interesting to see how it all plays out 
. Trump's personal financial interests are definitely a factor here, but I think it's also a sign that he's learning from past experiences 
. The debate is far from over, but for now, let's just enjoy the drama 
. You know, I was worried about how his involvement would go down, especially with his personal financial ties to Netflix and all that 
just saw this news on Twitter and I'm DYING 
!! President Trump backing down from Warner Bros. Discovery deal? Like, what's next?! 
And now with Trump taking a hands-off approach, it's probably going to go in Netflix's favor... fingers crossed for the Queen of Streaming 
. With him not intervening, Netflix might actually get to keep their deal without any major issues. And can we talk about how much financial baggage Trump has gotten himself into by buying up those Netflix bonds?