Billionaire whose son wants to buy CNN ‘held talks with White House where he discussed axing two anchors who Donald Trump hates’
The billionaire father of Paramount owner David Ellison floated the idea of firing some of CNN’s top talent if his son is able to acquire the news network’s parent company Warner Bros Discovery, according to a new report.
Hosts Erin Burnett and Brianna Keilar were singled out by Larry Ellison during phone calls with officials at the White House, sources familiar with the matter told The Guardian.
The 81-year-old Oracle founder singled out the anchors because they are not liked by Donald Trump, the sources said.
Ellison also reportedly pondered a programming change that would put longtime CBS News flagship program 60 Minutes on CNN. CBS News’s parent company Paramount was recently bought by Ellison’s son David. Larry Ellison helped finance that deal.
The report, published Thursday, sparked chatter across the halls of CNN’s NYC headquarters in Hudson Yards, Status reported.
David Ellison, 42, has entered an unknown bid for the entire WBD portfolio, including CNN.
Larry and David are the only prospective WBD bidders who want to buy CNN as part of any deal. Others are said to be willing to spin off the ailing cable network into a separate company while focusing on more promising assets like Warner Bros. movie studio and HBO.
Pictured, Donald Trump and Oracle founder Larry Ellison trade laughs at the White House in January. Ellison does not hold a specifed role at Paramount, which is run by his son David Ellsion
Hosts like Erin Burnett and Brianna Keilar were singled out by the elder Ellison on at least occasion during telephone conversations with officials at the White House due to being disliked by Trump
Larry Ellison, a well-known GOP donor, donated to Trump’s 2024 campaign and does not play a formal role within Paramount.
He is, however, the company’s primary shareholder – and he fourth-richest man in the world with a net worth of nearly $200billion.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Paramount for comment on the report Friday. Reps from CNN declined to comment.
Burnett, 49, has been with CNN since 2011 after joining from CNBC. Keilar , 45, joined CNN as a correspondent in 2006, after several years with CBS News. The two have offered critical reporting Trump for years, but are far from the only CNN stars known for targeting the president.
Burnett – currently the host of hour-long primetime program Erin Burnett OutFront – last week tore into the conservative for what she saw as inconsistencies in his story about Jeffrey Epstein on November 13.
On Thursday, she hosted Democratic Rep. Chrissy Houlahan to criticize Trump for accusing six Democratic lawmakers of of ‘seditious behavior, punishable by death’ for a video urging members of the military to not follow orders if they are unlawful.
Keilar did the same later in the night on News Central with Congressman Chris Deluzio (D-PA), one of the politicians in the video, calling Trump’s comments ‘outrageous.’
Last year, she tore into the president for his false claims about Haitian immigrants.
The younger Ellison is seen sitting ringside at UFC 314 with President Trump and members of his team in April. He took over Paramount – which is looking to buy CNN parent Warner Bros Discovery – in July
Ellison, 81, also reportedly pondered a programming change that would put longtime CBS News flagship program 60 Minutes on CNN, despite his son being technically at the reins
The news comes after former New York Times opinion editor Bari Weiss was minted as CBS News’ chief on October 6 after ‘informally consulting’ the network for weeks, a source told the Daily Mail last month.
David Ellison personally headhunted Weiss after buying Paramount in July.
She is said to be keen to hire a new evening news star, with Fox News host Bret Baier and CNN favorite Anderson Cooper among her rumored top picks. Weiss resigned from Times in 2021 to found the Free Press, which was purchased by Ellison in October for roughly $150 million.
After being named CEO, Ellison pledged to shed any prior political connotations that may be tied to the company after a string of controversies and claims of ‘deceptive’ editing practices from both Donald Trump and Homeland Security boss Kristi Noem.
Before the merger, Paramount balked at settling a lawsuit with Trump that claimed a 60 Minutes interview with a then-campaigning Kamala Harris was ‘deceptively edited.’
The suit was settled for $16million days before the FCC approved the merger.
Other companies who have entered a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery – sans CNN – include NBC News parent Comcast and Netflix.
