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Skydancing With Trump
Donald Trump escalated his attacks on CBS News in a Sunday night tirade. But it’s what prospective new owner David Ellison was doing 24 hours beforehand that’s also left the newsroom on edge.
Oliver Darcy
April 14, 2025
Donald Trump at the UFC fight Saturday night. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
On Sunday night, Donald Trump launched into an unhinged tirade, this time targeting CBS News and its parent company, Paramount Global. The president, apparently incensed by the latest episode of "60 Minutes," unleashed a barrage of false claims and conspiratorial rhetoric, accusing the network of having “illegally” worked to elect Kamala Harris. In his Truth Social post brimming with nonsensical vitriol, Trump declared he was “so honored to be suing” CBS, labeling the outlet not as a legitimate journalistic institution but as a partisan “political" operation that, in his words, must be held “responsible for what they have done, and are doing.”
But Trump’s fury didn’t end there. He escalated his attack by openly pressuring his own handpicked Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr, who oversees broadcast license renewals and will play a pivotal role in any regulatory scrutiny of CBS. Trump urged Carr, who did not respond to a request for comment, to “impose the maximum fines and punishment, which is substantial, for their unlawful and illegal behavior.” He concluded the tirade with more of his trademark autocratic bravado, declaring that CBS is “out of control” and “should pay a big price for this.”
The rant, which should be taken seriously and not simply brushed aside as empty rhetoric, unquestionably raised eyebrows inside Paramount. But what was not widely known among employees was what had occurred just 24 hours earlier. On Saturday night, David Ellison—the billionaire founder of Skydance Media who is actively attempting to acquire Paramount—was seen…
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