President Donald Trump, walking the red carpet ahead of the Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday, offered cautious praise for Netflix while signaling potential concerns over the streamer's planned deal for Warner Bros. Discovery, according to C-SPAN.
Asked about the proposed merger, Trump highlighted both Netflix's success and the regulatory scrutiny he believes the deal will face.
"Ted is a fantastic man, I have a lot of respect for him, but it's a lot of market share," Trump said, referring to Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos. "That's got to go through a process, and we'll see what happens."
Trump said Sarandos had recently visited the Oval Office and called him "one of the greatest" executives in modern Hollywood, crediting him with turning around a struggling company.
But he repeatedly emphasized the size of the combined companies and hinted at antitrust questions that regulators — and the White House — will have to weigh.
"They have a very big market share. And when they have Warner Bros., that share goes up a lot," Trump said. "I'll be involved in that decision, too."
The president made the remarks during a wide-ranging, unscripted exchange with reporters that touched on the arts, tariffs, foreign policy, and his role hosting the Kennedy Center Honors. But the Netflix-Warner Bros. Discovery question drew one of his most pointed answers of the night.
Trump also reiterated his admiration for Sarandos personally, saying, "Netflix is a great company, and they've done a phenomenal job."
The Warner Bros. Discovery deal is expected to undergo lengthy review, with Trump signaling that — despite his respect for the Netflix chief — regulators will need to examine whether the merger gives the company too much dominance in the entertainment market.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.