Billionaire tech magnate Larry Ellison and his son, David Ellison, are at the center of a political and corporate drama that could redefine American media—and the fate of CNN.
According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, the Ellisons have privately assured President Donald Trump that if their company, Paramount Global, succeeds in its $108 billion hostile takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), they will impose sweeping reforms at CNN, the network Trump has long branded “fake news.”
The competing bid comes just days after Netflix reached a $72 billion agreement to acquire Warner’s film and HBO assets. Crucially, the Netflix proposal does not include CNN, which would be spun off into a separate company under its deal structure.
By contrast, Paramount’s offer explicitly includes CNN—and the Ellisons have made clear they intend to remake it from the ground up.
The Wall Street Journal reported that during private meetings in Washington, David Ellison told senior Trump officials that under Paramount ownership, CNN would undergo a “fundamental cultural and editorial overhaul.” His father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, discussed firing prominent CNN anchors such as Erin Burnett and Brianna Keilar, two figures Trump has publicly criticized.
“The president wants new ownership of CNN and changes to CNN programming,” one White House official said. “He thinks the current leadership is openly hostile and believes a sale is long overdue.”
Both Ellisons have worked to cultivate Trump’s confidence as the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division—which reports to the president—will ultimately decide whether either deal is approved. The father-son duo were seen with Trump in the presidential box at the Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday, just 48 hours before Paramount’s counteroffer was announced.
According to The Guardian, Larry Ellison personally phoned the president after the Netflix-Warner announcement to argue that a Netflix acquisition “would hand Silicon Valley near-total control over streaming media” and stifle competition.
David Ellison has publicly described his vision for CNN and CBS News under a single, merged news division. In a CNBC interview, he said Paramount’s goal is to “build a scaled news service that is in the trust business, in the truth business, that speaks to the 70 percent of Americans in the middle.”
The Ellison plan would place the combined CNN–CBS News operation under the direction of Bari Weiss, the former New York Times columnist who recently took over as CBS News editor-in-chief and has rebranded the network as “anti-woke.” Her first major move was hiring Matt Gutman, formerly of ABC News, as CBS’s chief correspondent across CBS Mornings, CBS Evening News, and 48 Hours.
Recently, Gutman drew sharp criticism for remarks made while covering the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. During a live broadcast, he described text messages released between the alleged killer and his romantic partner as “very touching” and
“intimate,” casting them in a sympathetic light despite the gravity of the crime.
Within 24 hours, Gutman issued an apology on social media, stating he “deeply regretted” that his words could be construed as insensitive, and asserting that he unequivocally condemns the assassination and the pain caused to Kirk’s family and supporters.
The Ellisons’ proposed acquisition would realign CNN with this alleged “post-woke” CBS ethos—one aimed squarely at restoring what David Ellison calls “viewer trust.”
Despite the outburst, aides say Trump remains open to the Paramount bid—particularly given that it includes CNN, unlike the Netflix plan. The president has privately told advisers he wants “real reform” at CNN and believes a Paramount acquisition could finally bring accountability to what he views as a hostile outlet.
At a White House roundtable Monday, Trump said, “I know the companies very well. I know what they’re doing. But I have to see what percentage of market they have. None of them are particularly great friends of mine. I want to do what’s right.”
The proposed megadeals have already triggered rare bipartisan alarm. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called both mergers “anti-monopoly nightmares,” while Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) warned that such consolidation “would shrink consumer choice and silence independent voices.”
A Wall Street Journal political newsletter summed up the moment succinctly: “Both Netflix and Paramount are acting like the fate of any multibillion-dollar deal runs through the Oval Office—because it does.”
New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may be on the brink of getting herself in a heap of legal trouble.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem spoke to Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday and said it would be “entirely appropriate” for the Department of Justice to look into the Democrat-Socialist representative for a webinar she did where she advised illegal immigrants on what they can do if confronted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
It came after the firebrand representative dared Border Czar Tom Homan to “come” for her.
“Tom Homan said he was going to refer me to DOJ because I’m using my free speech rights in order to advise people of their constitutional protections. To that I say: Come for me. Do I look like I care?” she said at her town hall in Jackson Heights, Queens.
When asked about Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s comments, Noem said that perhaps the Department of Justice should investigate what she did.
“I think the Department of Justice absolutely should look into this situation,” she said. “We’ve seen not just those that serve in public office be willing to break the law to facilitate the invasion that has happened and allow criminals to stay here. We’ve also seen judges take radical action to help protect these criminals. It’s time that we stand for what’s right.”
“The American people are sick of these people abusing our system to try to promote an agenda. Remember, the Democrats are using fear to control people. They’re out there motivating people by fear, and they’re standing alongside known terrorists in order to endanger our future,” the Homeland Security chief said.
“So I think it’s entirely appropriate that the Department of Justice look into these situations,” she said.
On Feb. 12, Ocasio-Cortez made waves when she hosted the webinar, titled “Know Your Rights With ICE.”
“We see how ICE often uses rhetoric to criminalize immigrants, to normalize their tactics and justify what they’re doing,” she said as she described the encounters as “often very aggressive.”
On her website, Ocasio-Cortez also had a flyer that told illegal immigrants about “their rights.”
It said, “You do not have to open the door” for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
It also told them that ICE agents can’t go into someone’s home without a valid warrant signed by a judge. The poster said, “Ask them to put the warrant under the door.”
Her office also helps illegal immigrants get free legal help so they don’t have to be deported.
During an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Homan said that he sent Ocasio-Cortez to the deputy attorney general to be looked into.
“She wants to say that she knows how to teach people their constitutional rights.” The border chief said, “Yeah, you can call it that.”
“Everyone knows what she’s doing.” She wants to teach these people how to avoid being caught by police or ICE. We are still looking for child predators in New York and her district. Some of the people she wants to teach about constitutional rights are people who have been convicted of rape or child sex crimes, Homan said.
“We’re trying to follow the laws that Congress made.” It’s possible that they have more important things to do than write laws that they don’t want to be enforced, but as a member of Congress, you’d think she’d want ICE to enforce the laws that she helped write and for which she gave us money. That’s what we’re trying to do, but she’s making it harder and more dangerous, he said.
Hannity said it was likely the representative’s case for free speech, but he asked, “When does it cross the line into helping someone break the law?”
“That’s the exact question I asked the Deputy Attorney General.” He was asked to look into it. “I said, “You know, I’ve seen someone step in front of you and between you and the person you’re pulling over or beating,” Homan said.