Someone’s playing fast and loose with the real numbers, and, for once, it may not be Donald Trump — at least when it comes to POTUS’ recent multi-million dollar lawsuit settlement with CBS.
Never one to let anyone else have the last word or reluctant to craft reality to his own connivence, Trump tonight literal doubled down that his arm twisting and threats with the outlet garnered a much bigger reward than the $16 million parent company Paramount Global wants to admit to.
“We did a deal for about $16 million plus $16 million, or maybe more than that in advertising,” Trump told reporters upon Air Force One tonight of the July 2 contentious agreement with the still Shari Redstone run media company. “So, it’s a combination of 16 plus 16 plus,” the White House pool report says POTUS claimed on the way back to DC from a denigrating filled MAGA speech Thursday at the Salute to America Celebration at Des Moines’ Iowa State Fairgrounds.
“So, it’s like $32, maybe $35 million,” Trump added of the long expected bow from CBS in response to his original $20 billion suit filed late last year over an interview with rival Kamala Harris that ran on 60 Minutes. Then in the heat of the 2024 election, Trump has long insisted the sit-down was intentionally edited to make the then-VP look better and give the Democrat an electoral leg-up.
Bill Whitaker & Kamala Harris on the 60 Minutes election special (Credit: CBS)
CBS News
The publicly acknowledged $16 million check coming from CBS is the same as the deal that Disney reached in December to resolve a Trump defamation lawsuit against ABC News and George Stephanopoulos over rape trial results the anchor incorrectly referenced repeatedly in an interview. Just like this CBS matter, that money from Disney went to the future Trump library and attorneys fees
That “$32, maybe $35 million” remark from Trump late Thursday over ads on CBS and perhaps other Paramount Global properties is a stark contrast to what the company and its executives having been saying the past couple of days.
“Contrary to some news reports or media speculation, Paramount’s settlement with President Trump does not include PSAs or anything related to PSAs,” the Paramount Global declared Wednesday in a statement as talk of a side deal on PSAs and more reverberated around Wall Street, K Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. “Paramount has no knowledge of any promises or commitments made to President Trump other than those set forth in the settlement proposed by the mediator and accepted by the parties.”
So, as at this point, is Paramount Global essentially now calling Donald Trump a liar?
Hoping their publicly disclosed $16 million payout to the former Celebrity Apprentice host will unlock long stymied F.C.C. regulatory approval for its $8 billion merger with the David Ellison Skydance, that may not be the stance Paramount Global wants to find itself in this holiday weekend
With 60 Minutes and CBS News having lost the likes of producer Bill Owens and president Wendy McMahon over the company’s willingness to bend to the relentlessly media attacking Trump over what was widely touted as a “meritless” suit, current co-CEO George Cheeks has tried to frame the widely derided deal, as just business as usual. “Look, companies often settle litigation to avoid the high and somewhat unpredictable cost of legal defense, the risk of an adverse judgment that could result in significant financial as well as reputational damage and the disruption to business operations that prolonged legal battles can cause,” Cheeks said at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on July 2, noting that in the settlementTrump didn’t get the apology he had long sought
As Sen. Elisabeth Warren (D-MA) talks of putting forth a bill ASAP to “rein in corruption” related to presidential libraries donations, the Trump foe is “calling for a full investigation into whether or not any anti-bribery laws were broken.” Closer to home for Redstone, Ellison and the once mighty CBS news organization, John Dickerson, co-anchor of the CBS Evening News, put it all out there this week.
“The Paramount settlement poses a new obstacle,” Dickerson said, looking straight to camera at the end of Tuesdy‘s broadcast. “Can you hold power to account after paying it millions? Can an audience trust you when it thinks you’ve traded away that trust? The audience will decide that. Our job is to show up, to honor what we witness on behalf of the people we witness it for.”
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