War Secretary Pete Hegseth said he would like to see Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison take over CNN, and possibly dictate its future news coverage, in the entertainment company’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
His remarks were part of a broader attack on the “fake news” media as he held a press conference on the war with Iran.
“Fake news from CNN reports that the Trump administration underestimated the Iran war’s impact on the Strait of Hormuz. Patently ridiculous, of course,” Hegseth said Friday morning. “For decades, Iran has threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This is always what they do, hold the strait hostage. CNN doesn’t think we thought of that. It’s a fundamentally unserious report.”
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He then mentioned Paramount’s potential future ownership of CNN.
“The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better,” he added.
The admission is notable, considering the Trump administration is reviewing the pending merger.
As part of the $110 billion deal, Paramount is seeking to acquire CNN in its purchase of WBD. The plan to take over CNN may resemble how Paramount overhauled CBS News last year after the network’s parent company was acquired by Skydance. Ellison had led Skydance for 19 years before joining Paramount.
In a CNBC interview last week, Ellison suggested CNN and CBS News would remain separate brands once the two parent companies combine.
“Editorial independence will absolutely be maintained. It’s maintained at CBS. It’ll be maintained at CNN,” he said. “And, really, who we want to talk to is the 70% of Americans and really around the world that identify as center-left, as center-right. And we want to be in the truth business. We want to be in the trust business. And that’s not going to change.”
President Donald Trump has frequently butted heads with CNN since his first term. David Ellison is the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, a close Trump ally and major Republican donor.
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The chief executive assured Trump that he would make “sweeping changes” to CNN while visiting the White House late last year, according to the Wall Street Journal. Paramount ultimately obtained a merger agreement with WBD last month after Netflix bowed out of the bidding war.
Barring any holdups from the federal government or state attorneys general, the historic merger is expected to close in the third quarter this year.
