Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he has full confidence in the new owners of CBS News. He said tech billionaire Larry Ellison and his son David, who now control Paramount, are “friends of mine” and “big supporters.”
“So who’s going to be the head anchor at CBS?” Trump asked with a grin. “Not Norah O’Donnell. I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it.”
Trump praised both Ellisons and said they will bring CBS back to greatness. “Larry Ellison is great, and his son David is great. They’ll do the right thing. They’ll make CBS — they called it the Tiffany Network, and it’s got great potential. CBS has great potential,” he said.
Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle, was one of Trump’s biggest backers during the 2024 campaign. His son David has also met with Trump several times, including earlier this year when he was seen sitting next to him at a UFC fight.
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The younger Ellison recently named Bari Weiss as the new editor-in-chief of CBS News. Weiss, who runs The Free Press, has been known for her outspoken criticism of liberal media bias.
CBS has been struggling to climb out of last place in the evening news ratings since Norah O’Donnell’s departure earlier this year. Her replacements, John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois, have not been able to close the gap with ABC or NBC. Some CBS staffers have quietly complained that the show has lost its focus on breaking news and become too soft.
O’Donnell, meanwhile, has stayed in the spotlight. On Friday, she moderated a discussion on Trump’s Middle East peace deal and the Gaza ceasefire, joined by Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice.
David Ellison has promised to rebuild CBS News with what he calls “balance and accountability.” As part of that plan, Paramount also brought in Kenneth Weinstein, the former head of the Hudson Institute, to act as a public ombudsman for viewer complaints about bias.
You can listen to Trump’s full comments below.
Trump: Who is going to be the head anchor as CBS? Not Norah O’Donnell.. Larry Ellison is great and his son is great. They’re friends of mine. They’re big supporters of mine and they’ll do the right thing. pic.twitter.com/dEg30O8QJm
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 12, 2025
Featured image via YouTube screengrab
