Mark Thompson’s D.C. Drop-In

On Wednesday, as Donald Trump tore down the East Wing to build his ballroom, the White House had a visitor who raised eyebrows across Washington. CNN chief Mark Thompson made a rare appearance at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

The meeting was ostensibly about introducing to the administration the network’s new direct-to-consumer streaming product launching next week, laying the groundwork for officials to appear on CNN, a person familiar with the matter told Status. But given the swirl of speculation surrounding the cable network, with parent company Warner Bros. Discovery having publicly put itself up for auction, the question of Donald Trump’s animosity toward CNN, and how that might manifest itself in the process, is very much on people’s minds.

The meeting could certainly have been regular business, as news networks have a vested interest in maintaining a relationship with the administration for coverage access. But people close to the situation say Thompson and WBD chief David Zaslav believe it is very important for CNN to have a functional relationship with the White House, and CNN anchor Jake Tapper—who recently conducted an interview with Trump via text message—has been lobbying for an interview with the president.

Such a posture is nothing new for Zaslav, who said at a 2023 media conference—before Trump’s reelection—that “Republicans are back on the air” at CNN, adding that the network would become less of an “advocacy outlet” under new management.

Still, staffers were taken aback the next morning, when Thompson suggested during the daily network editorial call that it should ease up on covering Trump’s East Wing demolition, claiming that their viewership isn’t all that interested in the story, according to two people familiar with the matter. The comment struck many as bizarre coming from Thompson, who despite carrying the editor in chief title generally tends not to wade too much into the minutiae of the network’s editorial process. “There is zero truth to this conjecture,” a CNN spokesperson told Status in a statement after this story was published.

The guidance suggested Thompson was trying to soften CNN’s coverage of Trump on an issue the administration has sought to keep out of public view as polls show most Americans disapprove of the action. Whether or not the East Wing project was among the topics of conversation during Thompson’s White House meeting, the timing felt suspicious, with staffers wondering what coverage might be discouraged next. A network spokesperson declined to comment on the subject matter of the visit.

A Thompson confidant told Status that the White House visit didn’t come entirely as a surprise, as the network boss has made clear that it is building its streaming service with a “big tent approach” to programming, trying to reach all sides. While streaming could serve as another conduit to the administration, the new venture’s prospects are clouded by the broader uncertainty regarding WBD, after a previous foray into that realm, CNN+, was an early casualty of the merger.

The White House visit wasn’t the sole reason for Thompson’s trip, as he also met with CNN’s teams based in Washington. Yet the timing of Thompson’s meeting had insiders buzzing about the optics, as the Trump administration continues its assault against the press while soliciting donations from major companies, including Comcast, YouTube, Apple, and Amazon, for his controversial construction project.

Ultimately, the fate of CNN’s latest stab at streaming, and even Thompson’s longer-term role at the network he joined a little over two years ago, appear to remain unsettled. Much of that has to do with its parent company, and the concern—further fueled by a New York Post story last week—that Trump could seek to steer any deal to the Ellisons and Paramount, which, given the changes implemented at CBS News, doesn’t bode well for CNN.

Indeed, among the questions of a WBD-Paramount combination would be the reporting structure and the extent to which CNN might fall under the editorial stewardship of the anti-woke, pro-Israel Bari Weiss, who David Ellison recently installed as editor in chief at CBS News.

Trump has scarcely concealed his willingness to use the regulatory process in an effort to secure more favorable coverage, while seeking to extract financial concessions from news organizations that he contends have been “unfair” to him. While CNN is just a small part of WBD, the news operation looms large in the context of the studio’s future ownership.

Meanwhile, Thompson’s role as CNN’s chief executive hangs in the balance, and the timing of his White House trip fueled speculation that it could have been connected to the increasing likelihood of a Paramount acquisition. As the Thompson confidant conjectured, “When that happens, Mark is out.”

This week on Power Lines: We discuss David Zaslav’s attempts to stave off David Ellison’s aggressive bid for Warner Bros. Discovery and what it could mean for CNN’s future, Fox News’ endless attacks on Zohran Mamdani, media mogul Jay Penske’s willingness to legitimize far-right podcasters in exchange for some Golden Globes cash, Karoline Leavitt’s “your mom” meltdown, and more.

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