President Donald Trump took aim at CNN as its parent company faces potential acquisition, saying "it's imperative" that the news network be sold.

CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Netflix announced a $72 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. last week, but Paramount Skydance is now attempting a hostile takeover of the company after losing a bidding war to Netflix. CNN reported that it is not included in Netflix's purchase offer, but would be part of Paramount's acquisition.

Trump said Dec. 7 that Netflix's purchase of Warner Bros. "could be a problem" because the combined entity may have such "a big market share." Asked about the deal again Dec. 10 during a business roundtable at the White House, Trump said there are "some good companies bidding."

“I think any deal, it should be guaranteed and certain that CNN is part of it, or sold separately,” Trump said. “But I don’t think the people that are running that company right now, and running CNN, which is a very dishonest group of people, I don’t think that should be allowed to continue. I think CNN should be sold along with everything else.”

In being left out of the Netflix deal, CNN and other television assets would be turned into a new publicly-traded company run by Warner Bros. Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels, according to the New York Times. Paramount, meanwhile, would acquire all of Warner Bros., including CNN.

The investment firm of Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is involved in the financing of Paramount's acquisition effort, according to Reuters. Paramount CEO David Ellison, the son of Trump ally Larry Ellison, has discussed combining CNN with Paramount-owned CBS News, Reuters reported.

Trump has regularly criticized news outlets, including CNN, going back to his first campaign. He maintained an aggressive posture towards the media during his 2024 White House bid, and since being elected to a second term.

Trump sued ABC, CBS, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal over the last two years. ABC and CBS parent company Paramount settled their lawsuits. A judge dismissed the lawsuit against the New York Times.

The president also has attacked reporters asking him questions, including recently calling one "piggy" and another "obnoxious."

The Warner Bros. acquisition is generating antitrust concerns, with both Democrats and Republicans raising questions. The size of a combined entity could draw scrutiny from government regulators.

Contributing: Bart Jansen, Daniel de Visé, Thao Nguyen, Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says CNN 'should be sold' as parent company faces acquisition

Reporting by Zac Anderson, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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