Trump to stay out of Netflix, Paramount fight over WBD
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks before signing executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 30, 2026.
Annabelle Gordon | Afp | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said in a new interview on Wednesday that he would not get involved in their fight. netflix And Paramount Skydance buy some or all Warner Bros. discovery.
Trump: “I was not involved” “NBC Night News.”
“I’ve been called out on both sides,” Trump said. “There are both sides, but I decided I shouldn’t get involved. The Department of Justice will handle this.”
Trump’s latest comment is a turning point from what he said in early December after Netflix’s offer to acquire WBD became public.
Trump said at the time that the deal “could be a problem” because of the size of the market share Netflix would gain if the proposed acquisition was approved by federal regulators.
The president had also said he would be involved in reviewing and potentially approving the deal, which faces scrutiny from European regulators in addition to U.S. regulatory approval.
Netflix is proposing to acquire WBD in a $72 billion deal that does not include the company’s cable networks, including CNN. In December, WBD leadership recommended approval of this offer, which would include HBO and its streaming service HBO Max, as well as Netflix WBD’s film studio.
In response, Paramount launched a hostile takeover bid for all of WBD, whose enterprise value exceeds $108 billion.
“There’s a theory that one of the companies is too big and shouldn’t be allowed to do this, and the other company says something else,” Trump told NBC News on Wednesday. he said.
“They’re beating the hell out of each other, and there’s going to be a winner,” the president said.
This is developing news. Check back for updates.
