Trump Ally Promises CNN Overhaul If Paramount Succeeds in Warner Bros. Takeover

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.”

CHAOS On the Set! House Minority Leader Explodes At CNBC Host After He's Cornered Over Obamacare Subsidies

NEW YORK, NY — The polished veneer of the Democrat healthcare narrative shattered on national television this week as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries suffered a visible and vocal meltdown on CNBC’s "Squawk Box." In a segment that has quickly gone viral across the 2026 digital landscape, host Becky Quick executed a clinical cross-examination of the Democrat strategy to ransom the U.S. government over the sunsetting of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies.

The confrontation marked a pivotal moment in the post-government shutdown political theater, exposing what Speaker Mike Johnson has termed the "Politics of Fear." As Jeffries pivoted, deflected, and eventually erupted in anger, the cold hard reality of the 2026 healthcare crisis was laid bare: a system defined by 60% premium increases, a trillion-dollar price tag, and a Democrat leadership more interested in political leverage than bipartisan solutions.

I. THE CNBC CORNER: "LET’S NOT GO BACK TO THE PAST"

The tension began when Becky Quick pressed Jeffries on the necessity of a bipartisan approach to the looming expiration of taxpayer-provided ACA subsidies. These subsidies, which have artificially suppressed the soaring costs of Obamacare premiums, were strategically set to sunset on December 1, 2025, by the Biden-led Congress—a move critics say was designed to create a "cliff" that would force a Republican-led House into a spending trap.

1. The "Hang Themselves" Accusation

The debate reached a boiling point when Quick directly challenged Jeffries’ motivations for refusing to negotiate on a sustainable, bipartisan reform.

“I don’t think you want to get a deal done,” Quick said, looking directly at a stunned Jeffries. “I think this is something where you’d like to see the rates go higher and allow Republicans to hang themselves with it.”

The assertion struck a nerve. Jeffries, visibly frustrated, abandoned his usual measured tone. “That is a ridiculous assertion! Shame on you!” he shot back, his voice rising as the set descended into chaos. For the American public, the explosion was a tell—a sign that the host had accurately identified the Democrat "Lawfare" strategy being applied to the healthcare sector.

II. THE 60 PERCENT REALITY: OBAMACARE’S FAILED PROMISE

While Jeffries focused on rhetoric, Speaker Mike Johnson utilized his weekly press conference to provide the devastating statistics that have defined the ACA in 2026. The "Affordable" Care Act has become anything but, with the GOP majority revealing that by some estimates, premiums have risen an average of 60% since the program's inception.

1. Subsidies for Insurance Giants

Johnson argued that the "trillion dollars in new spending" demanded by Democrats to reopen the government was not going to patients, but was instead a direct transfer of wealth to insurance companies.

“The Democrats don’t reform Obamacare. They want to subsidize it,” Johnson explained. “That goes mostly to insurance companies, which makes the cost rise further. That’s the Democrats’ plan.”

By continuing to pump taxpayer billions into a broken system, the GOP argues that the radical left is merely inflating the bubble while masking the true, unsustainable cost of the healthcare mandates passed without a single Republican vote in 2010.

III. SAVING MEDICAID: THE AUDIT OF INELIGIBILITY

One of the most significant achievements of the 2026 Republican House has been the aggressive "cleanup" of the Medicaid system—a move Johnson cited as proof that the GOP is the party "fighting to save healthcare."

1. Removing Millions of Ineligible Enrollees

The Speaker revealed that the GOP has successfully moved millions of ineligible enrollees off the Medicaid rolls. This audit was not a cut to services, but a restoration of the program’s original intent.

“We got millions of ineligible enrollees off the program and it preserved it,” Johnson said. “It strengthened Medicaid for the people who rely upon it, which is the elderly, disabled, and young pregnant women.”

By eliminating the fraud, waste, and abuse that had bloated the system under the previous administration, the GOP has ensured that the safety net remains solvent for the most vulnerable Americans. The Democrat opposition to these common-sense audits, Johnson argued, is further evidence that they prioritize "raw numbers" over "quality care."

IV. THE POLITICS OF FEAR VS. THE MANDATE FOR REFORM

The recent government shutdown, which many in the media attempted to frame as a Republican failure, was re-categorized by Johnson as a "false claim" induced by Democrat intransigence. He asserted that the conflict was never truly about healthcare, but about the Radical Left’s fear of losing control over the taxpayer purse.

1. Ransom and Leverage

The December 1 sunset was a "timed bomb" left by the Biden administration. By refusing to work on a bipartisan fix throughout 2025, Jeffries and the House Democrats hoped to use the resulting premium spikes as a political weapon in the 2026 Midterms.

“No, [the shutdown] is not about healthcare,” Johnson declared. “This is about FEAR. Everyone in America understands that this is about something else.” That "something else" is the continued attempt to expand the "Deep State" bureaucracy into every facet of the American economy, using the health of the citizens as collateral.

V. THE 2026 RENAISSANCE: A NEW HEALTHCARE DOCTRINE

As the 2026 Renaissance continues to sweep through Washington, the Trump-aligned GOP is proposing a total shift away from the "subsidy-and-spend" model of the last 15 years. The new doctrine focuses on:

Reducing Costs through Competition: Moving away from state-mandated monopolies.
Increasing Access and Quality: Allowing for more diverse and affordable plan options.
Eliminating Fraud: Continuing the aggressive audits started by Speaker Johnson.

The confrontation on CNBC served as a microcosm of the national debate. On one side, Hakeem Jeffries represents the "Old Guard" of the DNC—relying on explosions of anger and accusations of "shame" to deflect from the fiscal failure of their policies. On the other side, the GOP majority is presenting a "Victorious American" vision: a healthcare system that is sustainable, accountable, and actually affordable.

CONCLUSION: THE END OF THE HEALTHCARE GRIFT

Hakeem Jeffries’ explosion at Becky Quick was not just a moment of bad television; it was the sound of a narrative collapsing. For over a decade, Democrats have used the "Affordable Care Act" as a moral shield to justify trillions in spending. In 2026, with premiums up 60% and the GOP exposing the "insurance company payday," that shield has shattered.

Speaker Mike Johnson and the House GOP have called the Democrats' bluff. By reopening the government without surrendering to the trillion-dollar subsidy demand, they have forced the discussion back to actual reform and fiscal reality.

The era of "subsidizing the failure" is over. As we head toward the 2026 Midterms, the American people are seeing the difference between those who want to "hang" their opponents with higher rates and those who are doing the hard work of saving the safety net for the elderly and disabled. The chaos on the CNBC set was the beginning of the end for the Obamacare grift.