Want to be on good terms with President Donald Trump? Expect to pay a lot.
According to The Wall Street Journal, a mediator has suggested a $20 million settlement to resolve Trump’s lawsuit against Paramount Global. The deal reportedly includes a $17 million donation to Trump’s future presidential library, along with millions for legal fees and airtime on Paramount-owned networks to run public service announcements condemning antisemitism.
But the negotiations haven’t progressed yet, and they might not. Trump’s team also demands an apology, which Paramount isn’t currently willing to provide. Settlement talks remain uncertain, and a resolution is still elusive.
Nevertheless, it raises an urgent question: In an era of media retreat and Trump appeasement, will CBS News be the next to give in?
At the core of the legal dispute is an October 2024 interview that CBS aired with Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump accused the network of editing the segment to make Harris look better, which CBS outright denies, stating that it simply aired a shortened version of her remarks. But that didn’t stop Trump’s Federal Communications Commission from reopening an investigation into the network—a clear intrusion into editorial judgment with serious implications for press freedom.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr cited a third-party news distortion complaint as the basis to scrutinize CBS’ editing. He’s demanded the raw footage and full transcript, which CBS released earlier this year. Meanwhile, Trump has filed a separate $20 billion defamation lawsuit against the network.
Paramount, CBS’ parent company, reportedly offered Trump $15 million to settle, but he countered with $25 million. The ongoing exchange has put Paramount executives in a tough spot, with internal divisions over how to settle without risking shareholder lawsuits or future legal issues.
To evaluate their legal risks, Paramount consulted Gibson Dunn, a top-tier law firm, which concluded that a $20 million settlement would likely avert criminal or civil repercussions and fall within the range of what other companies have paid to settle Trump’s lawsuits.
And those payments have accumulated.
In December, Disney quietly settled a defamation case involving ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos by paying $15 million to Trump’s presidential foundation and $1 million in legal fees. And in January, Meta paid $25 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit after suspending Trump’s accounts following the Jan. 6 insurrection. X settled a similar claim for $10 million.
Meanwhile, other outlets have shifted their stance to appease Trump—just look at The Washington Post under Jeff Bezos.
Trump already has loyalty from Fox News and One America News, but CBS’ situation is unique: Its lawsuit affects the network’s planned merger with Skydance Media, and insiders say pressure to settle has caused significant internal tensions.
In fact, Wendy McMahon left her role as CEO and president of CBS News last month, partly because she disagreed with how the company was handling the lawsuit. It was the second major leadership exit from the network this year.
The FCC has authority over the Paramount-Skydance merger because it involves broadcast license transfers, meaning Carr could delay or block the merger entirely to give Trump more leverage.
But for now, signs suggest that CBS might stand firm. In a filing Monday responding to Trump’s latest legal motion, Paramount and CBS jointly called the case “a meritless lawsuit.”
“President Trump and Representative [Ronny] Jackson attempt to evade bedrock First Amendment principles establishing that public officials like themselves cannot hold news organizations like CBS liable for the exercise of editorial judgment,” they wrote.
Let’s hope they stay firm—because few outlets will.