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The Situation Room
Paramount's Hostile Takeover Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery; Netherlands Pledges Another $815M to Ukraine; Indiana Redistricting Battle; Trump Presides Over Kennedy Center Honors. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired December 08, 2025 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:30:00]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: -- Discovery. This news coming just days after the company announced a deal with Netflix.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: CNN Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter is gathering the details. What is this? For our viewers who may not understand exactly what this means, tell us about it, Brian.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: This all comes down to how much Warner Bros. Discovery is worth, how much it's valued by shareholders. This time last year, the stock was hovering around $10 a share. It had been beaten down by shareholders for a couple of years. But now, WBD is up near $30 a share and that's how much Paramount is offering for the entire company, including CNN.
This is an attempt to go over the top and to defeat Netflix, which has offered to pay $27 and change per share for just Warner Bros. and HBO, for just the movie studio and the streaming service part of the house. Paramount is basically saying that it is making a superior all cash offer and going directly to shareholders in what's known as a hostile takeover bid, and letting investors decide what to do with the future of the company. Here's Paramount CEO David Ellison speaking about it this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID ELLISON, CEO, PARAMOUNT SKYDANCE: We're sitting on Wall Street where cash is still king. We are offering shareholders $17.6 billion more cash than the deal that they currently have signed up with Netflix. And we believe when they see what is currently in our offer, that that's what they'll vote for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: So, it's a corporate tug of war, financial back and forth. This is going to go on for a while. Netflix and WBD have a contract. They have a deal and they're staying the course moving forward. Now, President Trump is an X-Factor here. Will he direct the Justice Department to slow down Netflix's pursuit of Warner Bros.? Will he try to tip the scales in some way?
Well, notably last night, Trump was keeping his options open. He expressed some skepticism about Netflix's deal, but he also praised Co-CEO Ted Sarandos. Here's what Trump said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, that's got to go through a process, and we'll see what happens. It's a -- Netflix, a great company. They've done a phenomenal job. Ted is a fantastic man. I have a lot of respect for him, but it's a lot of market share. So, we'll have to see what happens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: Now, Netflix has been courting President Trump in recent weeks, and so has Paramount CEO David Ellison. A lot of this comes down to the relationships that the president has with these media moguls and what direction these moguls want to take the company.
Notably though, this morning, Trump blasted Paramount and blasted David Ellison in a Truth Social post. Apparently, the president was very. Set was 60 Minutes last night, and he said in all caps, they're no better than the old ownership since they bought it, 60 Minutes has actually gotten worse. So, President Trump not happy with either of his options, seemingly this morning.
BROWN: Yes.
STELTER: But more importantly, more notably, a hostile bid now for WBD. We don't know who will end up owning CNN and the rest of the company.
BROWN: The drama continues.
BLITZER: Yes, it certainly does.
BROWN: Yes. All right. Brian Stelter, thank you so much.
BLITZER: And coming up, a very big test for President Trump in the Hoosier State. The major vote hours from now in Indiana that could impact the control of the U.S. Congress
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:35:00]
BLITZER: Getting back to one of our top stories this morning, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting with allies in Europe right now and says security guarantees and territory remain the biggest sticky points in any peace plan with Russia. A very frustrated President Trump has said he doesn't think Zelenskyy has even read the latest U.S. proposal.
With us here in the Situation Room, retired U.S. Army Brigadier General Steve Anderson. He served as Deputy Chief of Staff under General David Petraeus in Iraq. I also want to ask you about Trump's comments. Let's start off with that. He singled out, General, Zelenskyy as being difficult, but what about Putin and Russia? BRIG. GEN. STEVE ANDERSON, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Well, unfortunately, I think the President and many of the people, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, seem to suffer from what I call a Putin infatuation syndrome. They have given him total deference in this fight with Ukraine, which is really sad because the Ukrainians need our support. They desperately need it.
I mean, this is an existential threat to America. The Ukrainians are fighting for all of us, not just themselves. And so, we need to strongly support them as best we possibly can, and it's sad to see this kind of schizophrenic diplomacy that seems to be all over the map, one week we support them and the next week we don't. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we have amateurs, essentially, that are running the diplomacy. You know, and Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, these are real estate guys. You need to have hardcore diplomats in there to work this out. But unfortunately, nothing's going to change until Vladimir Putin decides that he's been pressured enough to change.
BLITZER: President Zelenskyy is meeting with these European leaders today, as you know, and we saw the Netherlands, for example, pledge more than $800 million for Ukraine's defense. Does it look more and more like Europe will have to go it alone with Ukraine against Russia?
ANDERSON: Absolutely, Wolf. I mean, that's going to have to be the case. I mean, America is showing itself to not to be a reliable partner. That's bottom line in the Trump administration. They are not supporting Europe. They are not supporting Ukraine. And so, the Ukrainians are going to have to do what they can to get support from the NATO allies. And unfortunately, the United States is just not backing Ukraine like they desperately need.
BLITZER: Those NATO allies seem much more inclined to go ahead and support Ukraine right now. I want to turn to what's going on with Israel and the war in Gaza. Prime Minister Netanyahu says that he said over the weekend that Israel is almost done with what's called phase one of the ceasefire deal with Hamas that President Trump really worked hard to try to achieve. They will be successful in moving to phase two of the ceasefire in Gaza. He believes that. What do you think?
[10:40:00]
ANDERSON: I think that they're probably going to do that. They're moving in that direction. But remember, phase two, Wolf, is very, very difficult. I mean, the first part has essentially been ceasefire in account for all the hostages and the remains. This next part, where they're going to have to stand up a multinational force, they're going to have to build some kind of a transitional government of some sort. They're going to have to get Hamas to stand down to essentially give up their weapons. And of course, to get all the Israelis out there. I mean, it's taken us two months to get this far. The hard work is still ahead.
And, oh, by the way, Wolf, the two-state solution needs to be defined. The Palestinian people need to have self-rule. And unfortunately, we really aren't going to get there until we get through phase two.
BLITZER: Netanyahu makes it clear he opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, the two-state solution, Israel living alongside a new Palestinian state. And you think that has to be part of this deal?
ANDERSON: Absolutely. I think -- you know, and Netanyahu, I think he's sorely mistaken if he thinks that this problem is going to go away until the Palestinians have some ability to rule themselves. It's just going to continue to fester, and Israel is going to continue to have to fight this fight over and over again until they get some kind of a government in there that can represent the Palestinian people as they deserve to be represented.
BLITZER: And Saudi Arabia has made it clear, including in interviews with me, repeatedly over the past year or two, that unless Israel accepts that so-called two-state solution, Saudi Arabia is not going to join the Abraham Accords and make full peace with Israel.
ANDERSON: Yes, unfortunately. And they probably also won't participate in the multinational force, which needs to essentially get into Gaza and help keep the peace. And until that happens, you know, we strongly need, the world needs Saudi Arabian leadership in reconstructing Hamas and reconstructing Gaza and standing down Hamas. And until that happens, we're going to have a lot of problems.
BLITZER: Retired General Anderson, thanks very much for coming in.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
BLITZER: Pamela.
BROWN: All right. Coming up here in the Situation Room, conflicting accounts, new information reveals inconsistencies about the criminal records of detainees at the Trump administration's immigration raids. We'll be back.
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[10:45:00]
BROWN: Happening now, a showdown is brewing between President Trump and Indiana Republicans. The State House passed a new congressional map designed to hand Republicans all nine of Indiana's House seats here in Washington. But some Republicans in the State Senate aren't on board with this plan.
CNN Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny joins us now. So, just for our viewers to understand this, the way it is now, it could potentially take away two Democratic seats if this is passed, right? What is the likelihood that this plan would pass at the State Senate?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, super interesting. I mean, this is one of the latest chapters in the redistricting wars that we have seen play out all across the country. But you're right, the State House of Representatives on Friday passed it, but the State Senate is considering it this week. There's been unusual resistance among Indiana Republican state senators at this. I mean, it's been an extraordinary amount of lobbying by the president, by the vice president, by all types of other Republicans trying to get some state senators in Indiana to change their minds, and they simply are not interested in redistricting at this point.
And our Eric Bradner, who happens to be based in Indiana, had a great story over the weekend talking to conservative voters there on the ground, and they say, look, we support President Trump, but this simply just is not a top priority for us. They want other issues, property tax reform and things to be discussed.
So, why does Indiana matter? Why is this a national story? Of course, because of the control of the House of Representatives. President Trump is very intent on trying to have Republicans maintain their control, so they're trying to change the district lines in Texas, of course, which the Supreme Court has weighed in. California is going to help Democrats. So, this state-by-state-by-state fight is important, and it could be two more Republican seats in Indiana if the state Senate votes for it, but it's very unclear.
So, the bottom line, this is a bit of a loyalty test for President Trump. Is he losing some of his juice? We shall see. But Indiana, a very Trump-friendly state, but not necessarily on this issue. There's been some defiance here. So, local politics is perhaps more important than control of the House.
BROWN: Yes, and it's unusual, too, because it's mid-decade, right?
ZELENY: Right.
BROWN: And that was a big issue in Texas, and then California followed suit.
ZELENY: It's unprecedented.
BROWN: It's unprecedented. And it's interesting, too, because the state Senate in Indiana, though, initially wasn't going to hold a vote. Now, it is holding a vote, so we'll be watching this closely.
ZELENY: A lot of pressure, and we don't know how it's going to turn out, but it will be a test of President Trump's strength.
BROWN: It certainly will. All right. Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much.
ZELENY: You bet.
BROWN: And we're going to talk to former Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly about this redistricting fight in our next hour of The Situation Room. Wolf?
BLITZER: Also new this morning, Pamela, President Trump gave himself a starring role at the Kennedy Center here in Washington last night. It was the first time a president was actually the host of the annual Kennedy Center Honors, and he had a major role in picking this year's honorees, and they included Sylvester Stallone, the rock band Kiss, and singer Gloria Gaynor. Trump is also the chairman of the Kennedy Center and is presiding over its renovations.
BROWN: All right. let's go to CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptack. Kevin, last night's event seemed as much about President Trump as it did the honorees. What was it like?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and really, it's the culmination of the president's cultural takeover of Washington, but also of the Kennedy Center himself. You know, presidents usually attend the Kennedy Center Honors, but they just watch from the presidential box, you know, on the first tier of the opera house there. President Trump actually hosted the event himself.
[10:50:00]
You know, he said beforehand that he didn't prepare much, that he was using Johnny Carson and Bob Hope as his models for the event, and he spent a lot of time lavishing praise on those honorees. It was really kind of a greatest hits list from the 1980s. You had Gloria Gaynor. You had Kiss. You had George Strait, the country music star. You had Michael Crawford, who played the original phantom in the "Phantom of the Opera," and you have Sylvester Stallone, the original "Rocky."
President Trump talked a little bit about his chairmanship of the Kennedy Center as this event was getting underway. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Very exciting being chairman, but maybe more importantly, saving this incredible structure and building and concept, and it's done so well. You know, we've raised a tremendous amount of money tonight for the building itself and for the charities overall, and we're really happy. It's been a -- I mean, you see the way it's been received. It's been like it's never been before.
And this building, this beautiful building, is going to be brought back to life. We've already started, and it'll be better than it was from day one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIPTAK: So, this event's a major turnaround from the president's first term in office when he boycotted the Kennedy Center honors because he thought some of the honorees were too woke, and it comes amid major upheaval at the center after the president sort of took over, replaced its president, replaced many of the board members with his own allies. He began a $250 million renovation. He added events like the World Cup draw that we saw last week, portraits of himself and the vice president now hanging in the Hall of Nations.
We also saw some visible changes last night in the design of the medallion. The president replaced sort of that signature rainbow ribbon with a navy ribbon and a design of the medallion by Tiffany & Company, and he even joked last night about calling it the, quote, "Trump-Kennedy Center." Guys.
BLITZER: Kevin, I also want to ask you about another change involving President Trump. This one is about those free park days at the national parks around the country. What has changed?
LIPTAK: Yes, and this is all sort of a piece of the president inserting himself into some of the nation's cultural institutions. The president has added his birthday, June 14th, which also happens to be Flag Day, to the list of free admission days at national parks, and in doing so, the National Park Service removed two other days, Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, sort of the two signature civil rights holidays in the country. That's drawn some criticism, including from civil rights leaders, from Democrats, including the Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, who said that our country deserves better.
These changes go into effect on January 1st. It's one of several changes that the National Park Service has added, including increasing the fees for international visitors. Foreign tourists will now have to pay, on top of the normal admission fee, a $100 fee for some of the country's most popular national parks, including Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone.
BROWN: All right. Kevin Liptack, thank you so much.
BLITZER: Coming up right after the break, Marjorie Taylor Greene speaking out after her fallout with President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): I think they're terrified to step out of line and get a nasty Truth Social post on them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:55:00]
BROWN: All right. So, this is a segment that Wolf Blitzer has been looking forward to all day. There were some major upsets in the NFL and the playoff bracket picture is starting to come into focus. Right, Wolf?
BLITZER: And let me tell you why. CNN Sports Anchor Coy Wire is joining us right now. Coy, as you know, a lot of playoff hopes took a massive hit last night. But my Buffalo Bills, and I love my Buffalo Bills, they came out on top, as you well know.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: And I just want to know, are you wearing your Bills socks? I hope you are under that desk.
BLITZER: Not right now.
BROWN: I was ribbing him about that earlier. I was like, where are the Buffalo Bills socks? WIRE: Where are the socks? Hey, listen, there's a big saying among players and coaches in the NFL, the games they remember are played in December. Who are you when the playoff hopes are on the line? For Buffalo, everyone knows exactly who Josh Allen is. A four-touchdown day, including going mushing through the snow, 40 yards, Buffalo's longest touchdown run by a quarterback ever.
Buffalo was down 28-18 with about eight minutes to go. They came storming back. Look at Christian Benford leaping up from the interception from Joe Burrow, his second game in a row with a touchdown on defense. That gave the Bills the lead. And with about three minutes to go, Mr. Allen, the big, beautiful Bill, as Wolf calls him, hits Jackson Hall's touchdown. They go up 39-34, scoring three touchdowns in less than five minutes. Buffalo has now two comeback wins after trailing by 10 or more in the fourth quarter this season.
The Chiefs will not win their division for the first time in a decade. Houston's C.J. Stroud threw for 203 yards, and a score, 121 of them went to Nico Collins. And that Texans defense, they were like elf on a shelf, popping up out of nowhere. Rashee Rice getting blasted by Jalen Petre. And they were stealing the Chiefs' cookies, too, intercepting Patrick Mahomes three times, including during a late comeback attempt. Travis Kelce had butterfingers on that one. That was not Mahomes' fault. Houston wins 20-10. They've now won five straight.
Finally, the college football playoff is set. Top four seeds are Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia, and Texas Tech, earning first-round buys. But drama, though, with the last four spots. Alabama keeps their --
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