Elizabeth Warren has discovered antitrust law. Again. For the third time this month. And once again, her concern has nothing to do with consumers and everything to do with who’s holding the remote.
The Deal
Here’s what happened. Netflix dropped out of its bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, leaving Paramount Skydance as the top bidder. That’s it. One entertainment company potentially buying another entertainment company. The kind of deal that happens in Hollywood the way fender benders happen in Los Angeles — constantly, expensively, and with a lot of lawyers standing around looking busy.
But this one sent Democrats into full cardiac arrest. Why? Because Paramount’s chief, David Ellison, has connections to people who don’t hate Donald Trump. And in the modern Democratic Party, that’s not a business concern — it’s a national emergency.
The Panic Chorus
Warren called it an “antitrust disaster threatening higher prices and fewer choices for American families.” She then pivoted seamlessly to her real concern: “A handful of Trump-aligned billionaires are trying to seize control of what you watch.”
There it is. Not prices. Not consumer choice. Not jobs. The fear that someone who doesn’t share their politics might own a content platform. That’s the whole thing. Strip away the antitrust language and what you’re left with is a senator terrified that Hollywood might produce something she can’t control.
Adam Schiff — fresh off years of peddling stories that didn’t survive contact with facts — demanded the deal face “the highest levels of scrutiny, free from White House political influence.” This from a man who spent his career turning congressional hearings into political theater. Schiff worrying about political influence in media is like an arsonist complaining about fire safety codes.
And then there’s Cory Booker, who wants Ellison to testify before the Senate about his “intentions.” His intentions. Not the financials. Not the market impact. His intentions. Because in Booker’s world, buying a movie studio requires a political loyalty oath.
The Oligarch Who Hates Oligarchs
The cherry on this absurdity sundae is Tom Steyer — a left-wing billionaire running for governor of California — accusing Paramount of being “part of the oligarchy.”
A billionaire. Calling another company. An oligarchy. While running for political office. With his own money.
The self-awareness deficit in that statement could power a small city. Steyer has spent hundreds of millions of his personal fortune on political campaigns and activist organizations. He is, by every definition of the word, an oligarch. But it’s the right kind of oligarchy, apparently — the kind that donates to Democrats and runs ads about climate change.
The Double Standard So Thick You Could Park On It
Where were these people when Disney swallowed 21st Century Fox? When Amazon bought MGM? When every major tech platform consolidated power over information, entertainment, and communication under the same handful of Silicon Valley roofs?
Warren wasn’t calling emergency hearings when Google built a monopoly on search. Schiff wasn’t demanding “the highest levels of scrutiny” when Facebook acquired Instagram and WhatsApp. Booker wasn’t subpoenaing Jeff Bezos about his “intentions” when Amazon absorbed a movie studio and became one of the biggest content distributors on the planet.
Those deals were fine. Those billionaires were friendly. Those platforms reliably suppressed conservative voices and boosted progressive narratives, so the antitrust hawks stayed in their nests.
But the moment a deal surfaces that might — might — result in a media company that isn’t ideologically aligned with the Democratic Party, suddenly every senator with a press secretary is screaming about monopoly power.
What They’re Actually Afraid Of
Democrats don’t fear higher prices. They fear losing the narrative. For decades, Hollywood has been a reliable factory for progressive messaging. Movies, TV shows, streaming content — all filtered through a cultural lens that conveniently aligns with Democratic priorities. It’s not a conspiracy. It’s just how the industry self-selects.
The idea that someone outside that ecosystem might own two major studios terrifies them. Not because it’s bad for consumers — consumers don’t care who signs the checks as long as the content is good — but because it threatens the monopoly on storytelling that Democrats have enjoyed for a generation.
They’ll dress it up in antitrust language. They’ll talk about jobs and free speech and consumer choice. But the tell is always the same: they only care about media consolidation when the consolidator isn’t on their team.
Where This Goes
The deal is far from done. Regulatory hurdles, congressional hearings, bank agreements, and enough legal paperwork to fill a soundstage all stand between Paramount and the finish line. Democrats will throw everything they have at this — subpoenas, investigations, public pressure campaigns, and concerned letters written in the most alarming font available.
But the playbook is exposed. They fought the Netflix deal too. They’d fight any deal that threatened to break the ideological grip on entertainment media. The company name changes. The panic stays the same.
Trump-aligned billionaire buys a studio: antitrust emergency. Progressive-aligned billionaire buys a studio: visionary investment in American culture.
That’s not antitrust policy. That’s content moderation with a Senate gavel.