Trump and David Ellison Fete Each Other, and CBS, as a Megadeal Looms

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Trump and David Ellison Fete Each Other, and CBS, as a Megadeal Looms

The president spoke for nearly an hour at a Paramount-hosted event that raised questions about journalistic and regulatory conflicts of interest.

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Paramount’s chief, David Ellison, right, who needs federal clearance to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, held a dinner on Thursday featuring President Trump as well as top figures from CBS News.

Eric Lee for The New York Times; Jeenah Moon/Reuters

By

Michael M. Grynbaum

Reporting from Washington

April 24, 2026,

4:24 p.m. ET

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David Ellison, the billionaire media mogul, feted President Trump and top members of his administration at a private dinner in Washington on Thursday as his company, Paramount, seeks federal sign-off on a $111 billion deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery.

The gathering, at the U.S. Institute of Peace, included top executives and journalists from CBS News, which Paramount owns. Bari Weiss, the network’s editor in chief, joined Mr. Ellison at Mr. Trump’s table, and Norah O’Donnell, the former “Evening News” anchorwoman, also attended, according to two people briefed on details of the closed-door event.

Among the guests was Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general. Mr. Blanche oversees the Justice Department, whose antitrust division is set to review the Warner Bros. acquisition. The deal would place CNN and HBO, among other outlets, under Mr. Ellison’s control. Paramount’s chief legal officer, Makan Delrahim, also sat with Mr. Trump, the people said.

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Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, was among the guests at the private dinner.

Credit...

Kenny Holston/The New York Times

The president spoke for nearly an hour to the guests, a group that included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Stephen Miller, a deputy White House chief of staff.

Journalists who cover the White House regularly spend time with senior administration officials, and evening events are part and parcel of the reporting process. On Saturday, much of the Washington press corps is set to attend the black-tie dinner of the White House Correspondents’ Association, where Mr. Trump is scheduled to speak.

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