New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has sharply condemned the proposed $111 billion merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery after legal settlements removed the final barriers to closing the transaction.
In a post on X Tuesday, Mamdani argued that the deal threatens an independent and competitive media landscape while concentrating greater influence in the hands of wealthy owners.
“America is free only when the media is competitive, independent, and accountable to the people,” Mamdani wrote. “This merger strikes a chilling blow against that freedom — and hands even more power to billionaires like David Ellison to decide what Americans see and hear, all while lifting scrutiny off the federal leaders who pushed it through.”
He ended the message with an even more forceful rebuke, although he did not make entirely clear whom he was targeting with the closing statement.
“This decision is a shameful monument to corruption and a betrayal that the American people won’t soon forget,” Mamdani wrote.
Settlements clear the way for Paramount deal
Mamdani’s criticism followed Paramount’s settlements in two antitrust lawsuits filed last July. The company reached agreements with attorneys general representing 12 states, including New York, and with the Writers Guild of America.
Those settlements remove the remaining obstacles preventing Paramount from completing the controversial Warner Bros. Discovery transaction. The deal is expected to reshape Hollywood and will likely produce sizable layoffs.
Despite his broader attack on the process, Mamdani praised New York Attorney General Letitia James “for the protections she secured for workers.”
President Donald Trump has not publicly commented on the merger. Larry Ellison, the Oracle billionaire who is a key financial backer of the deal, is an ally of the president. He is also the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, whom Mamdani singled out in his post.
A different tone after Trump meeting
The mayor’s pointed criticism of federal leaders came one day after a notably cordial appearance with Trump at Gracie Mansion. Mamdani hosted the president at the mayoral residence while Trump was visiting for the United Nations General Assembly.
The pair displayed a mutually respectful and occasionally playful rapport during their joint news conference. They said their private discussions covered issues including affordable housing and immigration.
Trump again expressed his hope that Mamdani would be “a great mayor.” Mamdani, meanwhile, defended his willingness to engage constructively with the president despite their many policy differences.
“I committed over the course of the campaign, as well as while being in office, that I would meet with anyone, work with anyone that could deliver for New Yorkers,” Mamdani said. “So having a conversation about potentially building 12,000 homes, about the importance of our Haitian neighbors here in this city, those are conversations that are worthwhile to have.”
The congenial exchange continued a public dynamic between the two men that has stood apart from Trump’s attacks on Democratic candidates in November’s midterm elections, whom he has repeatedly labeled “radical” and “Communist.” Mamdani and Trump had previously met twice at the White House.
Trump’s appearance at Gracie Mansion also carried historical significance because presidential visits to the residence have been rare. Harry Truman attended a luncheon there in 1949 connected to a ceremony during construction of the United Nations headquarters building. John F. Kennedy appeared at Gracie Mansion in 1962, while Ronald Reagan visited in 1981.
What Happens Next?
With the agreements involving the 12 state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America now removing the final legal barriers, Paramount is positioned to close its $111 billion Warner Bros. Discovery transaction. Mamdani’s intervention ensures that the political argument surrounding the merger—and its potential consequences for workers and media independence—will remain part of the conversation as the companies move toward completion.