The seething animosity that Donald Trump fosters for the free press has been a defining characteristic of his warped, anti-democratic persona for as long as he has been in public life. He even published an anti-media page on the White House website. Ironically, he has also had an enduring dependency on the very same press for the constant attention he craves and that fuels his massive yet fragile ego.

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In a shameless attempt to kiss the…let’s say ring…of Herr Trump, billionaire media mogul and CEO of the Paramount Skydance conglomerate (which owns CBS), David Ellison, will be hosting a dinner Friday night to pay tribute to Trump for rolling over so compliantly and approving Ellison’s bid to takeover Warner Bros. Discovery (which owns CNN). Ellison has previously “paid” tribute to Trump in the form of millions of dollars in bribes to grease the wheels of his merger bid.

SEE THIS: Paramount Caves to Trump’s Extortion, Disgraces CBS, Pays a $16M Bribe to Settle a Bogus Lawsuit

Now, on the eve of the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual gala, Ellison is fluffing Trump and his ego once again. As reported by Variety…

“David Ellison, whose Paramount Skydance is awaiting closure of its massive deal to swallow up Warner Bros. Discovery, will host an invitation-only dinner next week ‘honoring’ President Donald Trump and CBS News’ White House correspondents, Variety has confirmed.

The event will take place in Washington, D.C., on April 23, two days before the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday, April 25. The Ellison-hosted function will be held at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, which the State Department in December 2025 announced was being renamed ‘The Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace.'”

The optics of this tribute dinner couldn’t be more disturbing. Ellison is brazenly exhibiting his bias for Trump and his MAGA cult movement. That bias has already been evident in the reporting by CBS, where its 60 Minutes program interfered with segments that were critical of Trump. What’s more, CBS has invited Trump’s Secretary of War Crimes, Pete Hegseth, and Senior Neo-Fascist, Stephen Miller, to be their guests at the WHCA’s dinner on Saturday.

How can anyone take seriously any dedication to honest, unbiased reporting by an organization displaying this much blatant political favoritism? It is also notable that while Ellison has plenty of time to suck up to Trump with patronizing dinners, he was unable to make time to appear before a congressional hearing probing Paramount’s efforts to acquire Warner Bros Discovery, that has numerous potential anti-trust violations.

Meanwhile, Ellison’s aspirations for autocratic media dominance are not a done deal. California Attorney General Rob Bonta will be conducting a “vigorous” review of Paramount’s pending acquisition. There will be similar reviews by legal authorities in other states, as well as internationally.

So the Trump regime’s takeover of the free press will be facing significant obstacles. And in the end they will have succeeded only in severely degrading the public’s trust in the institutions that align with Trump.

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