TJ Madsen is among the founding members of the New Herald Tribune and chairs the editorial board. He worked for national syndicated newspapers in Newark, Philadelphia, and Baltimore before moving to the midwest.
December 8 , 2025
Washington, D.C. — President Trump has reportedly told aides he doesn’t want the FTC to approve Paramount’s hostile takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery unless Paramount pays an extra 1616 million dollars tied to his feud with CBS News, according to people briefed on the talks.
The president’s reported demand centers on Trump’s assertion that CBS News, a Paramount subsidiary, aired unedited clips of several of his recent comments “in an effort to defame him,” one of the people said. Trump has complained for weeks that the broadcasts were “selectively framed” and “designed to make him look unhinged,” even though the network aired the footage in full segments with on‑screen context and follow‑up analysis.
The Federal Trade Commission is already reviewing Paramount’s multi‑billion‑dollar bid to swallow Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal that would mash together CBS, Paramount Pictures, HBO, CNN, and more into a media super‑giant. Now, insiders say Trump is trying to turn that review into leverage.
“Why should they get their big merger if they lie about me on TV?” Trump fumed in one Oval Office meeting, according to one official.
Legal experts say using a merger sign‑off to pressure a company into paying over a personal grievance would be highly unusual and could cross ethical lines. “Merger review is about competition, not settling scores with the press,” said one former antitrust lawyer.
The White House says the president simply wants “fair coverage” and denies improper pressure. Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery both insist the deal will boost competition and say regulators will judge it on the facts, not Trump’s media war.
Whether Trump’s 1616‑million‑dollar demand actually goes anywhere is unclear. What is clear: the biggest media deal on the table just crashed head‑first into the president’s long‑running grudge match with the news.
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