President Donald Trump says he will not be personally involved in the Justice Departmentโs pending antitrust review of Netflixโs proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Trump told NBC News anchor Tom Llamas that he made the decision to leave the process to the Justice Department during a pre-recorded interview that will air Sunday in advance of NBC and Peacockโs telecast of the Super Bowl. In December, days after Netflix and WBD sealed an $83 billion merger agreement, Trump told reporters โIโll be involved in that decision.โ
But this week, Trump told Llamas that heโs changed his mind, even though heโs been contacted by โboth sidesโ in the transaction.
โI havenโt been involved,โ Trump told the โNBC Nightly Newsโ anchor in a clip aired by NBC News as a preview for the full sit-down set to run before the big game on Sunday. The pre-Super Bowl presidential interview with an anchor from the host network has been a tradition on the NFLโs big day since President George W. Bush first did so in 2004.
โI must say, I guess Iโm considered to be a very strong president. Iโve been called by both sides. Itโs the two sides, but Iโve decided I shouldnโt be involved. The Justice Department will handle it,โ Trump said, per an NBC News transcript.
Trump acknowledged that Netflixโs proposed deal to acquire Warner Bros. is complex and the antitrust concerns about its long-term impact on the streaming TV marketplace are significant. He also nodded to the ongoing skirmish between Netflix and Paramount Skydance as the latter keeps up its campaign to snare WBD away from Netflix.
โThereโs a theory that one of the companies is too big and it shouldnโt be allowed to do it, and the other company is saying something else,โ he said. โTheyโre beating the hell out of each other โ and thereโll be a winner.โ
About The Author
