Jake Tapper and Kaitlan Collins Sound Off on Trump’s Call for CNN to be Sold in WBD Deal: ‘Never Seen Anything Like This’ | Video

Jake Tapper and Kaitlan Collins voiced their disbelief after Donald Trump shared he wanted to see CNN sold off through the Warner Bros. Discovery deal.

The CNN journalists weighed in on the issue Wednesday evening, mere hours after the president criticized the news company and took an unprecedented stance in M&A.

Tapper touched on the WBD bidding war during Wednesday’s broadcast for “The Lead With Jake Tapper,” where he accused Trump of “breaking with longstanding precedent on the role of a president when it comes to private commercial transactions.”

“He’s making his position on the acquisition very clear,” Tapper continued. “Saying he’s very focused on the fate of this news network and he will involve himself on the purchase.”

On Trump slamming CNN’s editorial content as “poison,” Tapper remarked that the president’s comments “were extremely unprecedented,” though “not surprising” given Trump’s “long dislike for any journalism that holds him accountable.”

He later pondered if Paramount’s bid, which Trump is reportedly in favor of, was even appropriate, as it includes Saudi funding — a government known for having a hostile relationship with the free press.

Tapper joked that he’s never covered a president that’s “particularly liked [him] or [his] coverage,” but added, he’s “never seen anything like this.”

Collins expressed similar sentiments on “The Source,” where she noted that Trump was jumping right into “the battle” for Warner Bros. Discovery.

“Maybe people aren’t surprised to see the president weigh in on this, just given, it’s the president and people are really familiar with how he does things,” Collins said. “But it is still astounding to see a president get so directly involved in something that federal regulators are gonna have to decide on.”

Netflix’s offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery was accepted late last week, but was immediately compromised when Paramount Skydance countered on Monday with a $30-per-share “hostile” takeover bid that CEO David Ellison said he would take directly to shareholders. While Trump initially avoided taking a stance in the ongoing bidding war, he did note on Wednesday that it was “imperative” CNN be sold in any WBD deal.

“You have some good companies bidding on it,” Trump said Wednesday. “I think the people that have run CNN for the last long period of time are a disgrace. I think it’s imperative that CNN be sold.”

He added: “I think CNN should be sold because I think the people that are running CNN right now are either corrupt or incompetent.”

Watch Tapper and Collins’ comments on the matter above.

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