The American media company Paramount is paying President Donald Trump $16 million (equivalent to €13.6 million). Trump had sued Paramount over a television interview with Kamala Harris during the election campaign. Opponents say Trump is strengthening his grip on the media as a result.
The case revolved around an interview that Trump’s opponent Harris gave to the CBS program 60 Minutes in October last year. Paramount is the parent company of CBS.
In the interview, Harris was asked about the war in Gaza. Her answers were cut up and partly used in another program. According to Trump, CBS misled viewers in this way, which would have been in Harris’s favor.
Trump therefore demanded $20 billion. According to most lawyers, he had little chance of winning the case. It is common in the television world to cut up interviews.
The settlement prevents a lawsuit. The amount that Paramount pays goes to Trump’s future presidential library.
According to rights groups, the settlement fits into a broader pattern of Trump putting pressure on the media. The president makes no secret of his aversion to CBS. During his campaign, he already threatened to withdraw the broadcaster’s license.
That Paramount agreed to the payment is partly due to the planned merger with media company Skydance. This merger requires approval from the Trump administration. A lawsuit could have complicated that.
Other media companies, including ABC News and Meta, had previously reached similar settlements, fearing opposition from the Trump administration.