Bernie Sanders slams Trump’s son-in-law over support for CNN takeover bid: 'That's authoritarianism'

WASHINGTON, DC: Senator Bernie Sanders slammed Paramount's takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery, calling its connection to President Donald Trump's family and allies a sign of "Authoritarianism, not democracy.”

Taking to social media on Wednesday, December 10, Sanders stated that, “a handful of giant corporations already control much of the media.”

Bernie Sanders slams deal as ‘authoritarianism,’ citing Trump’s involvement

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders took to ‘X’ to voice his opposition to the $108 billion takeover bid by Paramount Skydance of Warner Bros Discovery.

Sanders pointed directly to President Donald Trump's expressed interest and potential involvement in the deal, citing financial backing by a private equity firm run by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, along with sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar.

Sanders tweeted, "A handful of giant corporations already control much of the media," adding, "Trump wants to make it worse. He vows to "be involved" in allowing his billionaire allies, his son-in-law, and the Saudis, Qataris and Emirates to buy Warner Bros. That’s authoritarianism. Not democracy."

The bid was announced just as Warner Bros Discovery was in exclusive negotiations for an $83 billion acquisition by Netflix, which would have excluded CNN as it was to stay an independent company.

Jared Kushner's Firm and international funds back Paramount Skydance

The bid for Warner Bros Discovery came in from Paramount Skydance, led by David Ellison, fresh from a takeover of CBS News and apparently seeking to add CNN to his roster of media outlets.

Reportedly, Ellison's father, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, is a close supporter of the Trump administration.

It subsequently emerged that Jared Kushner's private equity firm, Affinity Partners, was backing the bid, in a consortium that included sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar.

However, as Axios noticed, "Affinity Partners was not mentioned in Paramount's press release on Monday morning about its $108 billion bid, nor were participating sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar."

Trump calls for CNN's sale and confirms potential role

With the competing takeover bids from Paramount Skydance and Netflix, President Donald Trump shared on Wednesday that he thinks the sale of CNN is "imperative."

Speaking with reporters at the White House, Trump lambasted the network's current leadership.

He said, "I think CNN should be sold, because I think the people that are running CNN right now are either corrupt or incompetent.

"I don't think they should be entrusted to run CNN anymore. So I think any deal should-it should be guaranteed and certain that CNN is part of it or sold separately," he added, concluding, "I think CNN should be sold along with everything else." 

When Trump was asked about the possibility of his involvement in the media merger, he said, "I will be probably involved, maybe involved in the decision. It depends. You have some good companies bidding on it."