President Donald Trump indicated that he supports David Ellison’s pending takeover of Paramount Global, though the ongoing lawsuit with the company over a 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris remains top of mind.
When asked at a press availability Wednesday about the deal, and whether he “sees that being resolved soon,” Trump responded: “I hope so. Ellison’s great, he’ll do a great job with it.”
Ellison, it is worth noting, was spotted at a UFC event held earlier this month in Newark, New Jersey, seated near Trump, who also attended. His company Skydance has a deal to acquire Paramount, but it is being held up at the FCC, which needs to approve the transfer of broadcast licenses.
Trump went on to connect the Paramount deal to his ongoing lawsuit with the company, explaining his position on what happened.
“What they did was they interviewed Kamala, her answer was horrendous, I would say election threatening,” he said. “They took the entire answer out, and they took another answer from another question and put it in. And they did that, I understand, a number of times … We caught ’em, and they are very embarrassed by it, and they are working on a settlement now.”
According to a transcript and raw video of the interview filed with the FCC in connection with its own investigation into the interview, 60 Minutes took one part of Harris’ response to a question and used it in a promo for the show, and another section of the same answer in the actual show itself.
Trump also said that “they are all getting fired,” alluding to the departures of 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens and CBS News and Stations head Wendy McMahon. Both have said they chopse to leave of their own volition, though they each expressed serious disagreements over how the company was handling the situation.
“It’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward,” McMahon told staff in announcing her exit.
“Over the past months, it has … become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it,” Owens told staff in announcing his departure. “To make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience. So, having defended this show — and what we stand for — from every angle, over time with everything I could, I am stepping aside so the show can move forward.”
