Donald Trump is changing his tune, saying that he now plans to stay out of Netflix and Paramount Skydance’s fight over Warner Bros. Discovery.
While the president previously said that he might weigh in on the massive deal that would reshape the media landscape, he shared his new perspective on the matter during a wide-ranging sit-down interview with NBC News‘ Tom Llamas, ahead of the 2026 Super Bowl.
“I haven’t been involved,” Trump said. “I must say, I guess I’m considered to be a very strong president. I’ve been called by both sides. It’s the two sides, but I’ve decided I shouldn’t be involved. The Justice Department will handle it.”
The president later acknowledged each side’s competing arguments, but reminded that there can only be one winner in the end.
“There’s a theory that one of the companies is too big and it shouldn’t be allowed to do it, and the other company is saying something else,” Trump added. “They’re beating the hell out of each other — and there’ll be a winner.”
In December, Netflix, run by co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, announced a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, including HBO and HBO Max, for nearly $82 billion. In response, David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance (David and his father, Larry Ellison, are prominent supporters of Trump) launched a $108.7 billion hostile offer for the entire company, including its cable networks.
When Warners ultimately rejected Paramount’s offers, favoring Netflix’s proposal, Ellison’s company filed a lawsuit looking to force Warners into giving Ellison’s company more information about how it chose the competing offer. This prompted Netflix to amend its bid to make it an all-cash deal, putting pressure on Paramount.
Last month, when asked by reporters if Netflix “should be allowed” to buy Warners, Trump said at the time, “Well, that’s the question. They have a very big market share, and when they have Warner Bros., you know, that share goes up a lot. So I don’t know. That’s going to be for some economists to tell. … And I’ll be involved in that decision, too, but they have a very big market share.”
A separate segment of Trump’s interview with Llamas is set to air on NBC’s Super Bowl LX Pregame Show on Sunday, Feb. 8.
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