CBS and Paramount Just Proved Trump’s Fake News Rant Works
CBS and Paramount gave Trump what he wanted. Not because they had to. Not because they were forced. Because they wanted to clear the path for a corporate merger. Trump threatened a lawsuit. They paid him off.
He claimed 60 Minutes edited an interview with Kamala Harris to make her look good and him look bad. He called it election interference and demanded twenty billion dollars. There was no proof. It was a stunt. They treated it like a serious case anyway.
Here is what they gave him:
Trump sued CBS and Paramount for $20 billion, accusing them of election interference over the Kamala Harris interview
At the same time, Paramount was pushing to merge with Skydance and wanted to avoid regulatory problems
They agreed to a $16 million payment to Trump for legal fees, which he says will fund his presidential library
They committed to airing tens of millions of dollars’ worth of conservative ads or public messaging which is fucking FAKE NEWS
They agreed to a new policy that forces 60 Minutes to release full transcripts of any interview with a presidential candidate, now branded by Trump as the “Trump Rule”
They caved to a man who has spent years attacking the press, calling it the enemy of the people, claiming every story he dislikes is rigged. CBS and Paramount just proved his tactic works.
Trump has built his political brand on LIES. He is literally the enemy of the people and now he has a settlement that makes it look like he was telling the truth. Not because he was. Because they let him say it without a fight.
This is submission to an authoritarian strategy. A false claim became a win. A media company gave up its ground without defending it. That tells every news outlet what to expect if they challenge him next. Lie big. Push hard. Get paid.
And of course Trump is claiming victory. He says this proves the media rigged coverage and in his usual swindle and grift, he’s already using it to raise money.
That is the cost of what CBS and Paramount did. They took a false claim and treated it as real. They turned a lie into leverage. Who in fresh hell would believe a single thing they publish going forward?!
In Closing: I would love to hear from you! So please don’t just sit with this in your inbox. Click through to leave me a comment and to start a conversation. Engage and share away.
Raise the volume with me! Outspoken
Coming soon: More Q&A’s with some of the most fascinating people you think you already know.
This is the handbook for dictators and the free press. I hope this is the last to cave to Trump. It’s so horrifying.
I can never watch CBS or Paramount news ever again! I only watched CBS because our local affiliate is not part of a big corporation, but an independent one in Oklahoma. Unfortunately, Oklahoma is a deeply red state whose legislators have no conscience. I am sorry to hear this. I makes me sick to my stomach!