President Donald Trump called for MSNBC to lose its broadcast rights while his $10 billion lawsuit against CBS looms over a major media merger.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “MSDNC is even worse than CNN. They shouldn’t have a right to broadcast — Only in America!”
The attack comes as Trump’s lawsuit against CBS over a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris has created complications for Paramount Global’s proposed $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. Trump’s legal team alleges CBS engaged in “partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference through malicious, deceptive, and substantial news distortion” in its editing of Harris’s interview about Israel.
CBS denied the allegations, stating that the interview was edited for time constraints and that claims it acted “nefariously” were “entirely unfounded.” CBS subsequently posted the unedited version of the interview on its YouTube channel.
The lawsuit’s influence extends beyond the courtroom. Incoming Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has warned Paramount executives that Trump’s disapproval of CBS will complicate the merger review process, according to Wall Street Journal reports.
This regulatory pressure has led Paramount to consider settling the lawsuit to facilitate merger approval. The company is “gaming out options to reduce friction with the incoming administration,” sources familiar with the matter report.
The merger would transfer control of 28 CBS Television Network stations, one Class A television broadcast station, and two low-power television translator stations from the Redstone family’s National Amusements to companies controlled by Larry and David Ellison.
Larry Ellison’s recent appearance at the White House with Trump for the Stargate AI infrastructure project is viewed as a strategic move to ease regulatory approval for the merger. The deal faces additional scrutiny due to Chinese company Tencent’s minority stake in Skydance, which has drawn attention from the House China Select Committee. A consortium led by Daphna Ziman is preparing a higher bid for Paramount, but the company remains bound by its deal with Skydance.
Trump’s criticism of MSNBC comes as the network has experienced ratings fluctuations. After an initial decline following Trump’s re-election, MSNBC rebounded to become the third most-watched basic cable network during primetime in early January, according to Adweek.
The network’s Morning Joe co-hosts, who attempted a more conciliatory approach to Trump coverage after his re-election, have since criticized his pardoning of Capitol riot participants. Meanwhile, Rachel Maddow has returned to hosting five nights per week during Trump’s first 100 days in office, and Joy Reid, a former Daily Beast columnist, has already mocked Trump’s “over the top” and “performative” inauguration benediction.
This is not Trump’s first attempt to challenge media licenses. In October, he demanded CBS lose its broadcast license over the Harris interview, declaring it an “UNPRECEDENTED SCANDAL” and “FAKE NEWS SCAM, which is totally illegal.” He wrote on Truth Social at the time: “TAKE AWAY THE CBS LICENSE.”
Legal experts have criticized Trump’s lawsuit against CBS as “frivolous and dangerous.” The case was filed in the US District Court in the Northern District of Texas, where cases in its Amarillo Division are automatically assigned to a Trump-appointed judge, raising concerns about “judge shopping.”
