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FCC Approves Paramount-Skydance Deal Weeks After Paramount Paid $16M To Settle Lawsuit With Trump; Torres: Democrats Have To Adjust To New Media Or Become "Extinct"; GOP Launches New January 6 Committee To Investigate The Last One; George Santos Faces Deadline To Report To Federal Prison. Aired 12:30-1p ET
Aired July 25, 2025 - 12:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[12:30:59]
MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR: Transaction approved. President Trump's FCC says Skydance Media can move forward with its plan to buy Paramount, the parent company of CBS. Now, the deal has been held up for months, and it's going through just a few weeks after CBS paid Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over how 60 Minutes edited an interview with Kamala Harris.
And just days after CBS canceled Stephen Colbert, of course, one of Trump's most outspoken critics on TV, the network says it was a financial decision, not a political one. And Skydance, a company controlled by the son of conservative megabillionaire -- of a conservative megabillionaire, made even more concessions.
They agreed to do a comprehensive review of CBS contents, promised to appoint an ombudsman to CBS News to handle complaints about ideological bias, said they would make changes to ensure viewpoint diversity, and would put an end to DEI at the company.
My panel is back. So what are the implications of this? And if we look at the timeline of how this all played out, too, they settled the lawsuit with 60 Minutes. Paramount settled it with Trump. That was on July 1st. July 4th, Trump claims that there was an additional $16 million in ads that they -- that would -- they would be able to put on CBS. Skydance and Paramount do deny that.
There was later a meeting with Brendan Carr, the head of the FCC, and there was a claim that they would deal with the increased viewpoint diversity. They would root that out. And then Paramount announced it would cancel "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," and then FCC approved its acquisition.
TAMARA KEITH, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, NPR: They really wanted this deal to go through. It's been clear for quite a while that they really wanted this deal to go through, that is Skydance and the owners of CBS at Paramount. So a lot of things happened. They aren't saying that they're linked. But certainly, you know, President Trump has wanted to put his stamp on culture, on media, on all of these things. He is celebrating the canceling of Stephen Colbert, celebrating all of this, celebrating all of these wins. You know, a lot of people, legal experts, thought that this was a frivolous lawsuit that if they had actually taken it to court, would have gone away. But they needed that deal to go through. And so it became something that happened. And it has absolutely roiled CBS News. And especially, we saw that play out at 60 Minutes.
RAJU: And this was a Skydance lawyer said they would ensure CBS, after they had met with Carr, they said that they would ensure CBS's editorial decision-making reflects the varied ideological perspectives of American viewers. Nothing so subtle about this.
JOSH DAWSEY, POLITICAL INVESTIGATIONS REPORTER, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Well, I mean, the CBS News president quit. The head of 60 Minutes quit. They had months of protracted negotiations over this deal. Some of the members of the board of the company felt like they would be paying a bribe. They were really concerned about the legal and ethical ramifications of this deal.
Some of the people wanted even more money, $50 million, $100 million, right, instead of the $16 million that they ended up getting. But it was still a huge payoff, $16 million to a president and his library and his foundation. And --
RAJU: And most lawyers said that there was a meritless lawsuit, too.
DAWSEY: Yes. Well, it was how they edited footage, right?
RAJU: Yes.
DAWSEY: They -- Trump did not like how they edited the footage that they put on screen and said, I'm going to sue you. And they gave him $16 million for the suit. And now they're making all of these other changes at his command. I mean, also, ABC paid $15 million to set up a suit with him. He's had some luck getting media companies to give him what he wants in this term.
RAJU: And this is what the Democratic commissioner of the FCC had said about this on Thursday. He said, "The Paramount payout and this reckless approval have emboldened those who believe the government can -- and should -- abuse its power to extract financial and ideological concessions, demand favored treatment, and secure positive media coverage."
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is attracting some attention on the Hill as well. Senator Elizabeth Warren has raised concerns that this may be veering into the area of, you know, bribery or antitrust law that she is looking into how far something like that can get in on Capitol Hill. When Republicans control the Senate is another --
RAJU: Yes.
FOX: -- question entirely.
[12:35:16]
But it just shows you that this is raising alarm bells for people who believe that this just is not what CBS officials are saying it is on paper, right? And I think that it's going to be really interesting to watch how this plays out, not just at CBS, but across the media landscape.
RAJU: And Brendan Carr, who's the head of the FCC, very close to Donald Trump, was asked on Fox News about whether Trump was involved on firing Stephen Colbert. And he didn't quite say yes or no.
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BRENDAN CARR, FCC CHAIR: I think there's a lot of consequences that are flowing from President Trump deciding. I'm not going to play by the rules of politicians in the past and let these legacy outfits dictate the narratives and the terms of the debate. And he's succeeding. Just look at what's happening.
NPR has been defunded. PBS has been defunded. Colbert is getting canceled. We've got anchors and news media personalities losing their jobs. Again, all of this is downstream of President Trump's decision to stand up. And he stood up for the American people because the American people do not trust these legacy gatekeepers anymore.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
RAJU: Didn't quite say whether Trump was behind that.
JOHN BRESNAHAN, CO-FOUNDER, PUNCHBOWL NEWS: He didn't.
RAJU: But Carr is an interesting figure in all of this. This is much different than past FCC chairs.
BRESNAHAN: Oh, he's hugely controversial. And the thing that gets me is, like, this goes to Josh's point, this would be a huge deal on its own if the Epstein thing wasn't out. This would be an enormous story. Was the president paid off to let a multibillion-dollar merger, or the allegation by Democrats, was there a payoff for a multibillion-dollar merger to go through?
And this would be a page-one, top-of-the-fold story. And we're not talking about it because we're talking about Jeffrey Epstein. I mean, there's some --
RAJU: But we are talking about it right now.
BRESNAHAN: We're talking about it now, but it's not dominating things. This would be -- you know, they would be calling for hearings. I mean, I think Democrats have been slow to this. I mean, Warren is pushing it. I'm shocked that, you know, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries and all these guys aren't all over this, because I think this is a big story.
But this also goes to your point. Trump is attacking what he sees as, you know, liberal, progressive culture across the border, in the colleges, on media, wherever he can, across the federal government, wherever he can.
DAWSEY: Yes.
BRESNAHAN: And this is part of the war against liberal culture.
DAWSEY: And Columbia University paid --
BRESNAHAN: Exactly.
DAWSEY: -- $200 million this week. Man, I think one of the big differences in his first term and this term, from where I've seen covering it, is in the first term, he would rail against people and say things X, Y, Z. But he wasn't getting these big capitulations --
BRESNAHAN: Yes.
DAWSEY: -- big people giving him exactly what he wants. I think he sort of figured out how to use the levers of government --
RAJU: Yes.
DAWSEY: -- to go after these institutions in a way that's getting them to give him big things, I mean, significant things.
RAJU: He's having a lot of incentive for these threats because people are capitulating, organizations are as well.
All right, good discussion.
Coming up, after a bruising 2024, how do Democrats bounce back? Well, Dana sat down with a leading Democrat to talk about the party's path back to power. And it involves a drastic new approach to media. That's next.
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[12:42:58]
RAJU: Here in Washington, Democrats may not be in power, but in New York, a Democratic socialist running for mayor has sent shockwaves through the party. So what lessons can the broader Democratic Party learn from that race?
Dana Bash sat down with New York Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres in her office to get some answers.
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DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: It's obvious why the New York mayor's race got you thinking about --
REP. RITCHIE TORRES (D), NEW YORK: Yes.
BASH: -- the social media revolution. But what specifically was it, or is it, about how Mamdani used social media that's different from other people who have done it? Because it's not so new. TORRES: It's a new version of a familiar technology. So like, you know, in 2015, Donald Trump was the master of text-based social media. In 2025, Mamdani emerged as the master of video-based social media. Like, we're living in a world where vertical videos have taken on outsized importance in our politics.
And traditional Democrats have to adjust, or else we're in danger of becoming extinct. And so I went from investing nothing in videos to investing tens of thousands of dollars a month in videos.
It is time to protect our democracy from the unfolding grift of a presidential profiteer, Donald Trump.
Because that's the new means of communicating with voters, especially young voters.
BASH: Investing for your campaigns, because obviously you're in the House, you're always running, but also for your --
TORRES: Governing. I think vertical videos have become an essential element of governing in the 21st century and --
BASH: So give me an example of what's important, just based on what you've been doing recently.
TORRES: Explaining to people the reconciliation bill.
So when families and children go hungry, just remember, this was all to hand massive tax breaks to billionaires.
You know, explaining to them that the reconciliation bill is a frontal assault on working families, but doing so in a language that would actually appeal to young voters who receive most of their news on social media.
[12:45:05]
BASH: And have you really gotten that feedback? Have you -- do you -- I mean, it's also data-driven. Do you have the data to show that it's working?
TORRES: I mean, I'll give you an example. You know, I'm a millennial who has no cable television. So, you know, when Governor Cuomo ran for mayor, his campaign spent $40 million on television ads.
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ANDREW CUOMO, FORMER GOVERNOR, NEW YORK: There's a simple solution to a crisis, you act.
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TORRES: I did not see a single one.
BASH: Wow.
TORRES: Whereas Mamdani was ubiquitous --
BASH: Yes.
TORRES: -- on social media, on Instagram, on TikTok. And so you have to be engaged in both old media and new media. For me, the mayor's race between Mamdani and Cuomo was not simply a collision of political personalities and ideologies. It was a collision between two worlds, the old world of media and the new world of media. And we as Democrats have to be engaged in both.
BASH: You endorsed Andrew Cuomo --
TORRES: I did.
BASH: -- pretty early on.
TORRES: Yes.
BASH: Yes.
TORRES: I knew he would win my district. And he won by more than 20 points. And for all his imperfections, I genuinely thought he was effective as governor, right? He delivered marriage equality when others before him failed miserably. And he was a great builder of New York, you know, between Mario Cuomo Bridge, Moynihan Train Hall, LaGuardia Airport. I mean, these are -- you know, Javits Center -- these are staggering infrastructural achievements. So I endorsed him for those reasons.
BASH: And the knock on him was that during the campaign, he was not visible.
TORRES: Yes.
BASH: He wasn't out there. Did you interact with him at all during the campaign? It was a pretty long campaign. I mean, did you talk to him after you endorsed him?
TORRES: I endorsed him back in February. And I have not spoken to him since February.
BASH: To this minute?
TORRES: I have not spoken to him since February. The mayoral candidate to call me after the primary was not Andrew Cuomo, it was Zohran Mamdani.
BASH: He called you?
TORRES: Yes.
BASH: Even though you decidedly did not support him?
TORRES: Yes.
BASH: Did he ask for your support? TORRES: He -- no, I think he expressed interest in just a relationship going forward.
BASH: I mean --
TORRES: But if you had told me that the first mayoral candidate to call me would be Zohran Mamdani rather than Andrew Cuomo, I would have had trouble believing it.
BASH: I'm picking my job right now. That's remarkable.
TORRES: Yes.
BASH: Are you disappointed?
TORRES: The --
BASH: Or does that speak to why Andrew Cuomo didn't win the Democratic primary?
TORRES: Well, I feel like the governor now admits that he ran a complacent campaign. And if you're going to run for mayor of New York, you have to work for it. You have to hustle for every single vote because it is the greatest city on earth.
It is the most demanding position, second only to the presidency. And you want to -- you have to show that you want that job, and the voters have to know you want it.
BASH: How did your conversation go with Mamdani?
TORRES: It was mutually respectful. You know, we have profound differences of opinion. But, you know, the Democratic nominee is likely to be the mayor of New York. And the mayor needs the New York City congressional delegation. And the New York City congressional delegation needs the mayor. And it's in the interest of both sides to cooperate and coexist for the good of the city and the country.
BASH: Can you see yourself endorsing him before the general election?
TORRES: Look, unlike Republicans, I accept the results of elections. But I have no plans to endorse because there are -- there is -- I represent a substantial Jewish community in Riverdale. And there are real concerns about Mamdani, not among every Jewish New Yorker, but among many. And, you know, he has to address those concerns, not only with words, but with deeds.
BASH: Staying in the New York mayor's race.
TORRES: Yes.
BASH: What was -- you know, we've established the platform.
TORRES: Yes.
BASH: What was the message that broke through? Was it what Mamdani is saying, how he's saying it, who he is, and what he represents, or all of the above?
TORRES: I think three essential ingredients, a compelling messenger, a mastery of the medium, and the right message. And the right message is affordability. Like, if you're running for public office or if you're a governor, you have to speak to the issue that matters to most voters. And the issue that matters most is affordability.
Like, Mamdani did not run on Israel or Palestine. He did not run on defund the police. In fact, he ran away from it. He ran on affordability, which is the winning message.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
RAJU: Thanks, Dana, for that great conversation.
And coming up for us, a dramatic farewell before he reports to federal prison today. George Santos left behind a very, well, shall we say, Santos-esque goodbye message for his fans.
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[12:54:22]
RAJU: Topping our political radar, House Republicans are resurrecting the January 6th Committee, but with a very different mission. Investigate the January 6th Committee under the Democratic Congress.
CNN's Annie Grayer reports that this is all at the president's request. The committee's chairman tells Annie that Trump summoned him to the White House last month to ask why Republicans had not begun a new investigation. And then things moved quickly from there.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined the Breakfast Club this week, giving new insight on why he won't seek Michigan's open Senate seat in 2026, and how much fatherhood is impacting his choices.
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[12:55:02]
PETE BUTTIGIEG, FORMER TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: I was reading, I don't know, Cat in the Hat or something, and he just started curling up, fell asleep on my chest, and I thought that that's a vote. Like, he's telling me something about where I'm needed most. And I also thought, you know, that the message I want to get out there, I don't have to be in the United States Senate to do that.
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RAJU: That answer does not seem to close the door on a very different election in 2028.
And scandal-played former Congressman George Santos will report to prison today. He will serve 87 months for aggravated identity theft and wire fraud crimes he committed during his 2022 campaign. Perhaps this is just Act III. He penned his farewell message with classic Santos theater, writing, quote, "The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestone are packed. From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news, what a ride it's been. Was it messy? Always.
Glamorous? Occasionally. Honest? I tried. Most days, to my supporters, you made this wild political cabaret worth it. To my critics, thanks for the free press. I may be leaving the stage for now, but trust me, legends never truly exit."
Thanks for joining Inside Politics. Don't miss Inside Politics Sunday, 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Eastern this Sunday. I hope you'll join me with new reporting. And CNN News Central starts after the break.
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