Trump Slams Paramount-Skydance Deal Following MTG’s Viral ‘60 Minutes’ Criticism
President Donald Trump delivered a surprise public rebuke of the merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media on Monday, claiming the company’s new leadership has allowed CBS’s programming to “get WORSE”—a sharp reversal from his previous support for the deal. The President’s sudden change in stance follows the broadcast of a contentious CBS News 60 Minutes interview on Sunday, in which Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene harshly criticized Mr. Trump for abandoning his “America First” priorities and favoring “major industries and big donors.”
On his social media platform, Mr. Trump complained about Ms. Greene’s interview, in which the outgoing Republican Congresswoman repeatedly lashed out at the President when discussing her decision to resign. Though Mr. Trump initially likened Ms. Greene to a “rotten apple,” he quickly shifted his focus, stating his “real problem” was that the company’s new parent company, Paramount Skydance, would allow such a critical interview to air.
This criticism is particularly notable as the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) previously allowed the Paramount-Skydance merger to move forward earlier this year, a decision that followed a controversial $16 million settlement paid by Paramount to resolve the President’s lawsuit over the editing of a separate 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. During the settlement period, Mr. Trump had publicly praised the deal and its new leadership. However, reversing course on Monday, he wrote that the new ownership is “NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP,” adding, “Since they bought it, 60 Minutes has actually gotten WORSE!” The President’s comments come amid an already tense period of media industry consolidation, with federal antitrust authorities currently reviewing Netflix’s higher-stakes bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal Mr. Trump has also publicly promised to involve himself in.
