Warner Bros. Paramount Merger Fight Gets Nakedly Political

The same Hollywood crowd that loves to lecture everyone else about “choice” and “competition” is suddenly panicking over a merger that might shake up their own little empire. According to The Wall Street Journal, California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom is worried that his own attorney general, Rob Bonta, may be driving jobs out of the state if he keeps pushing to block the proposed Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Newsom reportedly wants Bonta to settle the case out of court and move on. Bonta is leading a coalition of 12 blue states in trying to stop the $111 billion deal. He claims the merger would hurt the entertainment business and leave consumers with fewer choices. But if the reports are right, Newsom sees a bigger problem: if the deal dies, Warner Bros. could shed thousands of jobs or even collapse. That would be a political disaster for a man who has bigger dreams than Sacramento and is clearly looking toward the 2028 Democrat presidential race. That’s why the governor’s office has reportedly encouraged Bonta to find a resolution out of court. When the local optics turn ugly, the political class suddenly started whispering about compromise. Meanwhile, Bonta is sti...