AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) slammed Paramount’s hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. in a scathing post on social media on Wednesday, calling President Donald Trump’s family connection to the deal a sign of rising “authoritarianism.”
“A handful of giant corporations already control much of the media,” Sanders posted on X, adding:
Trump wants to make it worse. He vows to “be involved” in allowing his billionaire allies, his son-in-law, and the Saudis, Qataris and Emirates to buy Warner Bros.
That’s authoritarianism. Not democracy.
Paramount Skydance announced its $108 billion hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery earlier in the week, and it was later revealed that Jared Kushner’s private equity firm was backing the deal. David Ellison, who runs Paramount Skydance, recently took over CBS News and is looking to add CNN to his holdings, further consolidating U.S. news media. David Ellison’s father, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, is a close ally of the Trump administration.
Axios noted of Kushner’s firm, “Affinity Partners was not mentioned in Paramount’s press release on Monday morning about its $108 billion bid, nor were participating sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar.”
Paramount’s offer came amid Netflix’s exclusive negotiations to buy Warner Bros. Discovery for $83 billion, excluding CNN, which would remain an independent company.
__
