Paramount Throws Party for Trump as It Awaits Approval of Warner Bros. Deal

The gathering included executives and leading journalists from CBS News, which Paramount owns, and the head of the Justice Department, which is reviewing the acquisition.



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

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.


Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, was among the guests at the private dinner. 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. ... But it is rare for a national media organization to sponsor an event intended to fete the powerful politicians who are covered by its news division, and rarer still when it has a major transaction pending before the federal government. Invitations to the event, which were distributed by Paramount and listed Mr. Ellison as the host, described the evening as “honoring the Trump White House.” ... Several CBS News journalists said they were taken aback by the existence of the dinner. They described consternation within the CBS newsroom over the event’s potential to create a perception of coziness between the news division and the Trump administration. The journalists requested anonymity to share sensitive, private discussions.

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Bari Weiss, the editor in chief of CBS News, sat at Mr. Trump’s table, two people briefed on the details said. Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times, via Getty Images

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Protesters on Thursday outside the U.S. Institute of Peace, where the dinner was held. Ken Cedeno/Reuters

Several dozen protesters gathered outside the Institute of Peace, which sits along the National Mall, on Thursday to assail Mr. Ellison and the pending Warner Bros. sale. Some chanted, “Block the merger.” ... Mr. Miller and Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, are expected to attend the Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday as guests of CBS News.

Aishvarya Kavi and Tyler Pager contributed reporting.

Michael M. Grynbaum writes about the intersection of media, politics and culture. He has been a media correspondent at The Times since 2016.