Key Points
- Trump publicly endorsed Nexstar’s $6 billion bid for TEGNA, urging regulators to approve it.
- Trump’s support comes despite past opposition to DEI, signaling a pragmatic carve-out.
- The merger still faces FCC review amid concerns over consolidation and higher TV fees.
President Donald Trump on Saturday said he supports Nexstar Media Group’s proposed $6 billion acquisition of peer broadcaster TEGNA, despite one of those companies affirming that diversity, equity and inclusiveness (DEI) programs opposed by Trump remain part of their corporate philosophy.
In a social media post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the combination of Nexstar and TEGNA would create stronger competition for large broadcast networks. He has previously spoken against editorial and entertainment programming on ABC, CBS and NBC, who count Nexstar and TEGNA among their largest affiliates.
“We need more competition against the enemy, the fake news national TV networks,” Trump said. “Get that deal done!”
It is exceptionally rare for a sitting U.S. president to comment about a pending business-related transaction that requires the approval of a federal agency. In this case, the Nexstar and TEGNA merger is being evaluated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), whose chairman, Brendan Carr, was appointed by Trump and has aligned himself in public with Trump’s views.
Last month, the FCC completed a period of public comment that sought information and insight on Nexstar’s proposed acquisition of TEGNA. The broadcast industry’s main lobbying organization and several Nexstar and TEGNA competitors backed the deal, while public interest groups and pay TV organizations opposed the matter, saying it would lead to a consolidation of power and higher fees paid by Americans who subscribe to cable and streaming services.
In public comments filed with the FCC, ordinary Americans appeared to oppose the deal, according to an evaluation of the FCC’s docket. In public polling, Americans said they supported the commitments local TV broadcasters make when it comes to news and community-oriented programming, but opposed any deal that allows major companies like Nexstar to merge with smaller players.
For Nexstar, the transaction appeared complicated at one point after a senior executive, Gary Weitman, testified in a lawsuit that the company still had DEI elements as part of its “corporate philosophy.” Trump opposed DEI programs during his campaign and signed an Executive Order to eliminate them within federal agencies, viewing DEI initiatives as discriminatory toward protected classes. Carr has opposed similar practices, warning private companies with DEI programs that their business-related transactions might be blocked if they required FCC approval, unless they eliminated those initiatives.
Several companies, including AT&T and Verizon, walked away from their DEI commitments. Others, like Nexstar and TEGNA, made public moves to remove DEI references from their website and employee handbooks.
Trump’s support on Saturday seemed to indicate that private companies in America can continue with their DEI programs if they otherwise make concessions or gestures that are favorable to his administration. Nexstar owns a cable news channel, NewsNation, that competes against Fox News and Newsmax for independent and right-of-center viewers. The network has hired more conservative and right-of-center commentators for their prime-time and weekend programs over the past two years.
Nexstar was also one of two broadcasters to capitulate to a demand by Carr last September when the company pulled ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from its affiliates for nearly two weeks. The decision came after late-night host Jimmy Kimmel wrongly implied that a man accused of assassinating political activist Charlie Kirk was philosophically aligned with Trump’s supporters.
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