Former GOP operative Steve Schmidt warned the Trump administration's approval of Paramount Skydance's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery will economically devastate California.
In his podcast, The Warning, Schmidt suggests CEO David Ellison will relocate Paramount from California to Texas, crushing Los Angeles and the state economy altogether. Schmidt characterized the deal as a corrupt act, alleging Paramount's $16 million settlement of President Donald Trump's CBS lawsuit constitutes a bribe to secure Justice Department approval.
He called on the California Legislature to convene a special session investigating the merger as corruption rather than merely anti-competitive behavior.
Schmidt urged Democratic lawmakers, "be very, very tough customers as we get closer and closer to the election," suggesting the deal represents political favoritism by the Trump administration in exchange for corporate settlement payments.
Watch the video below.