Trump Ripped As Mark Ruffalo Slams His Media Takeover; Hollywood has Had It

Summary

IHIP News Podcast Summary

Episode: Trump Ripped As Mark Ruffalo Slams His Media Takeover; Hollywood has Had It
Hosts: Jennifer Welch & Angie Sullivan
Guests: Mark Ruffalo (Actor/Activist), Norm Eisen (Attorney, Former U.S. Ambassador)
Date: May 14, 2026

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Overview

In this episode, progressive hosts Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan dive into the controversial proposed merger between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount, focusing on billionaire investors Larry and David Ellison’s growing media empire and its political implications during the Trump administration. Featuring impassioned guests Mark Ruffalo and Norm Eisen, the conversation explores the merger’s impact on the media industry, democracy, and workers, as well as broader themes of government corruption and democratic backsliding. Throughout, there's a blend of sharp critique, Yiddish wisdom, and rallying calls for action.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Media Merger: Danger or Opportunity?

• Overview of the Warner Bros.–Paramount Merger
  • Jennifer highlights the unprecedented scale: “This ... would combine two of Hollywood’s biggest studios with some of America’s most watched news networks under Larry and David Ellison’s control.” [01:27]
  • Ruffalo warns of sweeping layoffs, consolidation-driven price hikes for consumers, and the loss of diverse content:

    “We’re looking at ten thousands of jobs being lost in Hollywood right now, which is really struggling after the pandemic and after the strikes. This couldn't really come at a worse time.” [02:13]

  • Mergers lead to less competition, higher subscription costs, and reduced programming diversity.

2. Monopolies, Monopsonies, and Democratic Erosion

• Ruffalo describes the merger as creating a “monopoly” and a “monopsony,” which undermines workers’ bargaining power and wage competitiveness. [02:56]
• Eisen points out the regulatory dangers posed by Trump’s relationship with the Ellisons:

  “Normally it would be the job of the federal government and specifically its antitrust enforcer ... but we can’t count on the feds to do anything with Donald Trump buddy-buddy with the Ellisons.” [04:07]

  • State Attorneys General are seen as the last line of defense.

3. Fighting Trump’s Influence and the Oligarchy

• The Moral Split: Jennifer divides the world into “knee benders, the billionaire bedwetters” vs. the fighters. [06:16]
• Eisen connects the billionaire class’s dissatisfaction to old wisdom:

  “Marbe dages, marbe nachusim. The more money you have, the more headaches. And these belly crawling, ring kissing, boot licking billionaires ... the people who stand and fight are winning.” [06:56]

• Ruffalo underscores the necessity of fighting, invoking a Yiddish phrase:

  “There’s another great Yiddish saying. Gay cock and af en yum. That’s what we’re saying to Trump. I mean, we have to fight.” [07:54]

4. Hollywood’s Fear, and Courage as a Catalyst

• Mark Ruffalo recounts Hollywood insiders’ fears of retaliation from the Ellisons:

  “A lot of people ... were afraid ... these are some vindictive ... [billionaires]. But what we know is that courage is contagious and that there’s safety in numbers.” [09:47]

  • Journalists are also beginning to come forward. Ruffalo urges: “If I don’t speak out, it’s the same outcome. The only chance you have is if you fight. And that’s the way it is in every bully in the world.” [12:37]
  • He calls on agencies and unions to join the fight.

5. Journalism, Accountability, and Democratic Decay

• Jennifer ties the corporate media consolidation to threats against investigative journalism:

  “What I think Americans don’t realize how important mergers like this are is ... the media and journalists investigate things, documentary filmmakers investigate it further, and then it gets Hollywood-ized and you see it ... it injects into the culture that we stand up for the good guys.” [13:44]

• Eisen links Trump’s corruption and the celebration of “villains” in government (pardons for January 6th rioters, personal enrichment, etc.) to the lack of oversight for the merger:

  “We’ve never seen anything like it in American history ... the failure to do real oversight of the merger is a part of that scandal.” [14:38]

6. The Broader Cost of Corruption and Oligarchy

• Eisen and Ruffalo warn that all industries are being consolidated, harming American workers and consumers, contributing to the cost-of-living crisis:

  “The American people look at the cost of living crisis, and make no mistake, this merger consolidating ... you’re going to pay more for your cable services.” [18:02]

  • The connection between corruption, rising costs, and political incompetence is emphasized.

7. Trump, MAGA, and Entrenched Cronies

• Jennifer frames Trump as a declining but dangerous autocrat, inserting ideological successors into permanent roles:

  “He’s injecting acolytes and much younger people who are injecting themselves into systems that will long outlive the dementia duck.” [19:16]

• Ruffalo and Eisen argue for deep structural reform:

  “We need to clean house ... we need to have hearings, and we need to come through for the American people.” [21:03]

  • Eisen stresses the need for immediate legal action using existing laws, not waiting for a new administration:

    “Let’s look at what we can do now ... We cannot wait. We have to move quickly.” [22:40]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ruffalo:

  “If you capitulate, you become immediately...” [08:15]
  “If I don’t speak out, it’s the same outcome. The only chance you have is if you fight.” [12:37]
  “This oligarchy thing is dead. It’s coming to an end, and the people ate it. We're telling people it's not just my industry. Every industry ... is being consolidated like this.” [17:11]

• Eisen:

  “These belly crawling, ring kissing, boot licking billionaires ... the people who stand and fight are winning.” [06:56]
  “We’ve never seen anything like [this corruption] in American history ... the failure to do real oversight of the merger is a part of that scandal.” [14:38]
  “Enforce the laws that we have now. They’re being broken every day.” [22:40]
  “Let’s have hearings. Let’s start on day one. The American people don’t like the corruption. They don’t like the incompetence ... This merger is a part of that.” [23:30]

• Jennifer:

  “...the federal government is run by, you know, a senior citizen toddler surrounded by incompetent narcissists that he hired from Fox News. I mean, it’s really not that deep.” [13:27]
  “He’s injecting acolytes and much younger people ... into systems that will long outlive the dementia duck.” [19:16]

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Important Timestamps and Segments

• [01:27] Introduction of the merger topic, set-up for Ruffalo’s analysis
• [02:13 – 03:50] Mark Ruffalo on the impact of consolidation: layoffs, debt, loss of diversity
• [04:07 – 06:16] Eisen explains regulatory failures and the role of the states
• [06:38 – 08:28] Conversation about billionaires, Yiddish proverbs, and the necessity of fighting back
• [09:37 – 12:37] Hollywood’s culture of fear, growing courage, and the importance of collective action
• [13:05 – 14:38] Discussing the merger’s impact on journalism, institutional failures under Trump
• [17:11 – 18:02] The effect of corruption and industry consolidation on American workers and consumers
• [19:16 – 23:30] Trump’s strategy to outlast his presidency, calls for legal reform and immediate accountability
• [25:31] Conclusion and call to continued activism

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Tone and Language

• Direct, humorous, and impassioned, blending political activism and candid critiques with personal anecdotes and cultural references (including witty Yiddish sayings).
• Both guests express urgency and offer actionable encouragement to listeners facing fears around activism.

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Takeaway

This episode underscores the existential threat the hosts and guests see in unchecked media consolidation under friendly billionaire control and a compromised federal government. They urge listeners—and industry insiders—to overcome fear, join collective actions, and pressure state-level regulators, framing resistance as both necessary and achievable.

“Courage is contagious ... The only chance you have is if you fight.” — Mark Ruffalo [12:37]

Transcript

[Narrator]

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[Norm Eisen]

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[Mark Ruffalo]

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[Norm Eisen]

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[Jennifer]

Billionaires continue to think that they can operate with impunity and tear apart the institutions that hold our democracy together. The acquisition of Warner Brothers Discovery by Paramount is a deal that would combine two of Hollywood's biggest studios with some of America's most watched news networks under Larry and David Ellison's control. These people are not good actors, Larry and David Ellison. The good news is that we still have two patriots right here, Mark Ruffalo and Norm Eisen, that are fighting this every step of the way. Who will not bend the knee. Who will say, not today? Fascists. Mark, this is one of the largest media mergers in American history. Tell our listeners about the implications of this merger on workers in the Hollywood and media industries.

[Mark Ruffalo]

Well, what we've seen historically is these mergers actually come with massive layoffs. This particular merger will take on, I think they're starting with $111 billion. 58 to 78 of that will be debt, which means layoffs, which means for affordability, households who want Paramount or Max or hbo, their subscriptions prices will go up because there's a lack of competition in the market. And what we'll see is, we were just talking about it is censorship of shows or a loss of diversity of shows. Even with the best intentions, when you Take two of the biggest studios and you combine them into one, you're going to lose an enormous amount of diversity in the programming. And we're looking at ten thousands of jobs being lost in Hollywood right now, which is really struggling after the pandemic and after the strikes. This couldn't really come at a worse time. And if it was any other administration other than the Trump administration, this wouldn't be happening. It'd be stopped. This is a monopoly. It forms a monopsony which makes workers unable to actually have competitive wages. It's disastrous.

[Jennifer]

Ambassador Eisen, when you look at what the Ellison family would control, hbo, cnn, CBS News, Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures, mtv, Nickelodeon, and on and on, is there anyone in government whose job it is to pump the brakes on this type of consolidation?

[Norm Eisen]

Yes, Jennifer. Normally it would be the job of the federal government and specifically its antitrust enforcer whose role it is when these big combinations will hurt the American people to stop it. Fortunately, in this case, there's belt and suspenders and the suspenders. Cuz we can't count on the feds to do anything with Donald Trump. Buddy, buddy. With the Ellisons raising these questions of whether there is undue influence here. We have the state AGs. And that's why Mark and I have come together with over 5,000 people from Mark's fellow actors, some of my people like Jim Acosta and Katie Fang that I have worked with and do work with in journalism, and 5,000 others from every part of of the entertainment and news industry, right down to the grips and makeup artists and caterers who make that industry work to say, hell no. Ellison's, you screwed up cbs. Do we want that for cnn? No, we do not want to be turning the TV and you turn from Fox News to CNN to CBS and it's the same Trump programming on all those stations. No, we don't want that. So Mark and I, who are also friends in irl, have joined together. He called me when I was going in the Supreme Court for the birthright argument with the legal team. He's like, norm, we got to do something. We wrote this open letter and the letter was a love letter to the ags. We love when you defend antitrust. And by gum, it seems like they're about set to do that and to to fight this deal.

[Jennifer]

Norm, we've seen two different types of people that have encountered Trump's threats. You have the knee benders, the billionaire bedwetters who are just constantly complaining and grieving about how terrible their lives are. And then you have the People that have said, f you, I'm going to take you to court. And the people who have gone to court have won, is that not correct?

[Norm Eisen]

Yeah. The fighters who stand up have been successful in case after case. And you know these billionaires, they should call them the miserable class, not the Epstein class. They're so dissatisfied. Jennifer, you know, I grew up, my home was not an English speaking home. My first language was Yiddish. And there's a wonderful Yiddish saying, Marbe dages, marbe nachusim. The more money you have, the more headaches. And these belly crawling, ring kissing, boot licking billionaires and a handful of law firms who've cooperated a few universities, the people who stand and fight are winning. We do that with our over 300 legal cases and matters at Democracy Defenders Fund and action. And it feels so good to fight, doesn't it, Mark? It feels great. We get up every morning and we're fighting for what we believe in.

[Mark Ruffalo]

It's great. And we win. I mean, we win. There's another great Yiddish saying. Gay cock and AF and yum. That's what we're saying to these. That's what we're saying to Trump. I mean, we have to fight. You know, we've seen. If you capitulate, you become.

[Norm Eisen]

Yeah.

[Mark Ruffalo]

Immediately.

[Norm Eisen]

Let's. Mark and I are going to top each other, Jennifer, with the Yiddish saying he can never win since it's my first language. Zolzan atheist from the.

[Jennifer]

I'm an atheist from the Bible belt, so I'm all out of Yiddish.

[Norm Eisen]

Well, you know Yiddish. Yiddish. And yeah, some of the greatest artists. I don't think this. We knew this was where we were headed today. But some of the greatest artists of the Yiddish literature themselves were extreme skeptics, including Singer, Isaac Basheva. Singer. But I was going to do one last topper. We say to these people who are embracing autocracy, You should be punished like the wicked Korach of biblical terms. And they are now because they're waking up and they're saying, oh, my goodness, I aligned myself with the wrong person. Look at Donald Trump. And he's got his approval down in the 30s.

[Jennifer]

I sure keep hearing the word cock a lot. But that's another podcast for another day.

[Mark Ruffalo]

Mark.

[Jennifer]

Mark, you wrote an op ed in the New York Times about how many in Hollywood oppose the merger, but they're afraid to speak out. Why?

[Mark Ruffalo]

Well, you know, it's interesting because a lot of people off the bat were afraid. They're afraid because, to quote one prominent agent whose name I won't divulge here said, these are some vindictive. The Ellisons and. But I have to say the few who have been fearful have already started to, to change and come out. And since that time, we've had another 2,000 people sign on to the letter. What we know is that courage is contagious and that there's safety in numbers. A lot of the people on this letter are people who either can afford to be there, like myself, or those who can't afford to be there to not be there. They're fighting for their lives. The stakes are very, very high. They understand what happens when these mergers happen. The last one is Fox, Disney. And we lost so many jobs, we lost so many shows, we lost so many films that were in production or in pre production or being developed. And, and we know the writings on the wall. The one thing we didn't talk about also is what this would do to cnn. We're watching this degradation of journalism through political pressure happening at CBS right now. They brought a war criminal on 60 Minutes the other night, Netanyahu. They gave him their 60 Minutes platform. A war. Well, an accused war criminal.

[Jennifer]

He's a war criminal.

[Mark Ruffalo]

That would have never. He would never have been on 60 minutes outside of this regime. And that's another thing that people really understand. So there's a whole nother part of this, which is the journalists are starting to sign on. We have journalists who are coming out against this. And I just want to speak to that fear thing, because I have fear. I'm not doing this because I'm fearless. I'm doing this because I know we have to. And I know that no matter what, if I, if I don't speak out, it's the same outcome. I'm already on a list. I'm already not a friend of these people. And so you're either gonna fight or you're gonna lay down. But the same outcome will be if you don't, if you lay down. And the only chance you have is if you fight. And that's the way it is in every bully in the world. That's what I learned as a kid. And so that's how we have to approach it. So, yes, people are afraid. And it's funny. It's the agencies that are setting out the agenda for the actors. And I really hope they start to change their tune and see the writing on the wall here that their clients are going to suffer more from sitting back and letting this happen than getting out and fighting next to us. The unions, too.

[Jennifer]

I think it's a Badge of honor to stand against this regime. And I think it's such a disgrace that so many people, especially the billionaire bedwetters, you know, if you go on Elon Musk's or Bill Ackerman's Twitter feed, these people are so, you know, oppressed. Mamdani's going to make them pay a little bit in taxes for their, you know, $300 million apartment. And they're just such assholes. And I'm very grateful that you guys are standing up and fighting this because I feel like where we are right now. We asked Norm, who is supposed to regulate this? Well, the federal government. Well, the federal government is run by, you know, a senior citizen toddler surrounded by incompetent narcissists that he hired from Fox News. I mean, it's really not that deep. I'm not even trying to be that, that insulting. That's just literally the reality of what we're dealing with. And I think it's going to take us to save us. And Mark, before we got on, we were talking about your movie that you were in, Spotlight, which is based on a true story about the Catholic Church and, and cover up. And what I think Americans don't realize how important this mergers like this are is the media and journalists investigate things, documentary filmmakers investigate it further, and then it gets Hollywood eyes and you see it, but it injects into the culture that we stand up for the good guys. Norm, how has it been watching the federal government celebrate the villains? To literally have a federal government in the Oval Office where you have a bunch of dirty cops pardoning criminals from the executive branch.

[Norm Eisen]

Jennifer, it's been shocking. And both the fact that we can't count on the federal government to do an honest evaluation of this merger and the fundamental dishonesty and corruption where you have Donald Trump and the Ellisons are far from his only cronies. Where you've seen the open favoritism by him and others in government and he himself, as we sit here today, he himself is thinking about taking billions from the federal government in a settlement of his tax disputes. Countless amounts have flowed in from Gulf states for his crypto businesses. His son Eric is on these travels with him while running the Trump businesses. Tim Cook is traveling who brought him a golden tribute in the Oval Office. The Qataris gave him a golden Air Force One. This profit taking from the presidency is a part of the corruption of this regime. We've never seen anything like it in American history. And it goes hand in hand. Of course, they like the criminals. They Started off by pardoning over 1500 of them, including over 100 who had violently assaulted police on January 6th. Because Donald Trump himself is a convicted criminal. I sat in the courtroom every minute of that trial, over 30 criminal convictions in connection with the 2016 election misconduct. So it is a scandal. And we think the failure to do real oversight of the merger is a part of that scandal. But the good news is, so often in my 300 cases and matters, we litigate that with the state AGs, and they step up, they are unafraid, they're out front. And we are so excited to see them really taking a leadership role here on this merger to block it.

[Mark Ruffalo]

And they're doing that because they're doing that because the people are speaking out. We're supporting them. We're giving them the space that they need and the platform that they need to be responsive to the consumers, to the people, to the workers. This oligarchy thing is dead. It's coming to an end, and the people ate it. We're telling people it's not just my industry. Every industry in the United States is being consolidated like this. And I hope that anyone out there who's listening also drops their fear, because together, we're incredibly powerful. We could change this whole thing. And we can make it for the people instead of these rich assholes who are running everything and draining the wealth out of our entire nation into their pockets.

[Norm Eisen]

We're very irrepressible pair, Jennifer. It's very hard to keep us on track. I'm with you with your excellent. Your excellent question. So I'll just offer. I'll offer a chapeau to my friend Mark on that. The American people look at the cost of living crisis and make no mistake, this merger consolidating. You are going to pay more for your cable services. You're going to pay more across the board for movies. The American people. But it's only a small part of the cost of living crisis that is driven by the corruption, not unrelated, that Donald Trump is taking money out of the system. He wants 10 billion for that tax thing. What? It's not a coincidence that he's given tax breaks to his cronies to cut health care, makes health care more expensive. This corrupt war in Iraq for his whim is driving our gas prices up. So people understand the cost of living crisis is driven by the corruption and competence crisis. And they're not stupid. That's why his approval rating is in the 30s.

[Jennifer]

Okay, final question, because I know you all are both busy, but something we haven't discussed is Donald Trump is not a spring chicken. I call him a dementia duck. Right? He's got dementia and he's a lame duck. So we have dementia duck. But what he's doing is what Viktor Orban did in Hungary, what Putin does in Russia, he's injecting acolytes and much younger people who are injecting themselves into systems that will long outlive the dementia duck. And, Mark, you were talking about cbs, and I'm old enough to remember what incredible journalism they did on the tobacco industry and how important that journalism was to shine a light that these people lied. They lied and said, no, this won't kill you. No, this won't cause cancer. And they lied and they cooked the books. The same with the Sackler family and the opioid epidemic. They lie. And one of our last places that we can go, we have journalists that do it, then we can go into court and sue these corporations and make them pay for it. Trump is injecting his cronies into the court, into. You probably saw these ridiculous federal judiciary hearings they recently had with these dipshits that just could barely even get through Senate. It's just so embarrassing. And then you have these dipshits like Barry Weiss, a total fascist, a lesbian. Female. Female that's carrying water for the patriarchy, and somehow she thinks she's not going to be the first to drown, and she's ruining cbs. So please speak, both of you, how important it is not just to defeat maga, but to defeat these people who are piggybacking on the back of this idiot to go in and inject themselves into much bigger systems that will long outlive Donald Trump.

[Mark Ruffalo]

We need the clean house. I, you know, every other. I mean, how many crimes have been committed? I mean, the Iraq war, I mean, you know, there were, there's war crimes there. We were torturing people. We were, we were extra. I mean, but the idea is that after, after this happens, we're going to let everyone go, that we're not going to hold anyone accountable. And I think that's what brought us Trump, in a sense, and it's what's eroding people's belief in the institutions of democracy is this corruption and this idea that if you do something while you're in office and you do criminal acts, heinous, terrible things, and you steal, that once you leave office, we're all going to be forgiven. And I just think that we have to run against that urge and we need to hold people accountable and we need A clean house. And we need to have hearings and we need to come through for the American people. I'm going to give this to Norm because he has a legal mind that I don't.

[Norm Eisen]

We've become.

[Jennifer]

Let me ask you one question. Do you think that the incoming, if we get a new administration and they're blue, do you think they should make new laws, much like they did in Nuremberg, that say if you give a promise of pardon during the commission of a crime, that pardon is null and void and we get serious about taking on these criminals that are attempting this coup?

[Norm Eisen]

Well, we can't do the ex post facto laws, the laws that look backwards. So I was going to say, Jennifer, that Mark and I have become such good friends because he's the kind of the man of the people. Some say we're odd bedfellows, the odd couple. And I offer the legal perspective. I say enforce the laws that we have now. They're being broken. They're being broken every day. It's so outrageous. And, well, you know, while we're here right now, they're being broken. Look at these extra judicial killings of people, the boat strikes that are going on in the Caribbean. And what we do at Democracy Defenders Fund is every time one of this happens, we are putting down a marker. Right now we're filing complaints, criminal referrals, civil referrals, bar complaints. We're holding people accountable in real time. And to seize on one thing, Mark said, we don't have to wait for the day that you're foreseeing when there'll be again a unified government, a president who can act briskly. I was one of the first to say, why are we not holding Trump accountable for January 6th? I mean, why did it take years? People thought. I remember I went on CNN on the morning show and I talked about it and they looked at me like I was out of my mind. So we cannot wait. We have to move quickly. But let's look at what we can do now, including if Congress should change hands to pick up on what my friend said. Let's have hearings. Let's start on day one. The American people don't like the corruption. They don't like the incompetence. It leads to the cost of living crisis. This merger is a part of that. It is, in our view, prohibited by civil law. And I'll close on a positive note. If, as Mark and I believe in part as a result of this letter, the two of us have come together, the lawyer and the layperson, to encourage this letter, if the AGs take a step to stop this devastating merger which will lead to so many cost increases for the American people and so much consolidation in movies, TV and CNN turning it into the same as Fox News and cbs. If the AG Zach, God bless them, that'll be the accountability we want in real time.

[Jennifer]

I love it. Thank you both for doing this. Thank you for your energy. My listeners are going to love it. I think this we have to keep collaborating. We have to keep reminding everybody that we can fight and we can beat. Thank you both so much.

[Mark Ruffalo]

Thank you.

[Norm Eisen]

We love doing it. Thank you and thanks for being so outspoken. Jennifer, you don't pull any punches.

[Jennifer]

That's right. I don't know any different. So.

[Norm Eisen]

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