'He owns you': NYT columnist delivers ominous warning after new Trump deal
The deal that CBS/Paramount struck with President Donald Trump is a message to the GOP leader that he now owns them, said MSNBC political analyst, New York Times editorial board member and columnist Mara Gay.
Speaking on "Deadline: White House" on Wednesday, Gay warned that with Trump, it's never just one thing that he demands.
"The problem is that newspapers are also businesses, and so just like every other institution in the United States, all of us are living in a country where the president has shattered all norms and has shown himself to be willing and eager to use intimidation to get his way," she began, speaking to stand-in host Alicia Menendez.
Gay said it's important that institutions across the business sector stand up to Trump. That isn't something she's seeing.
"We've seen law firms capitulate, we've seen universities capitulate, and the problem with that ... is not only is it dangerous for democracy, but I think what we're seeing and we're already seeing this with Harvard, with Columbia, is it's never enough for Donald Trump. So, you don't strike one deal and you kind of kiss the ring, and then you move on and you get to act independently. Once you have signaled to the White House that you are not willing to stand up against this president, in his mind, he basically owns you."
She cautioned that it means Trump "is always going to ask for more. It's not going to stop there." It prompted her to wonder about the long-term business strategy for those who are willing to cave into Trump and what it will ultimately cost them over the next four years.
"I think people are really engaged in a lot of short-term survival thinking," she added.
Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket and a legal foe of Trump, pointed out that the decision is likely linked to a CBS-Paramount merger deal that the Federal Communications Commission must approve before it can proceed.
"What Paramount is doing here is anything other than paying a vig to the bookie. And they want the government to take an official act, which is to approve a merger, and they are willing to pay money. You know, in the old days, not that long ago, we would call that a bribe. It is still a bribe. And so this is an absolutely disgusting move by Paramount. It is one that Democrats on the Hill have already said that they're going to look at and see whether the law has been violated here."
Trump sued CBS/Paramount, alleging that they "illegally" edited a "60 Minutes" interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
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