United States President Donald Trump has had a tumultuous return to office, and he almost certainly hopes the remainder of his second term provides better optics for his administration than 2025, his first year back in the White House did.
Trump sat down with Tom Llamas of NBC for a one-on-one interview and revealed a particularly shocking move considering his history and personality: Trump is stepping aside from this one and sitting it out.
“I’ve been called by both sides… but I’ve decided I shouldn’t be involved. The Justice Department will handle it,” he said.
Drew Lerner of Awful Announcing reported in January on the intesifying bidding war between Paramount and Netflix for Warner Bros. Discovery, as Netflix looks to fend off Paramount’s takeover bid.
People reacted to Trump’s surprising decision on social media.
“Mr. Trump’s restraint here is the right call. The Justice Department should stick to real crimes, not business rivalries. This Netflix and Paramount tussle ought to be settled by consumers with their wallets, not by federal decree,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“The fact that they’re literally calling him personally and pleading their cases is corruption itself! POTUS doesn’t decide! The corruption is fully ingrained in the system but he’s embraced it,” someone else added.
“Finally some actual separation. Trump backing off means the antitrust review might actually be fair instead of a political circus. Let Netflix or Paramount win on merit,” another person wrote.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Justice Department litigates the situation in Trump’s stead.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.