Big Oil Hits Record Profits Amid Trump's War

Summary

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Podcast Summary: "Big Oil Hits Record Profits Amid Trump's War"

The Beat with Ari Melber (MS NOW)
Host: Ari Melber
Guests: James Carville, Ankush Khaduri, Ari Emanuel, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford
Date: July 31, 2026

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Overview

This episode of "The Beat with Ari Melber" tackles the explosive political and economic fallout from the Iran war, focusing on how Big Oil is reaping record profits while Americans face rising costs. Ari Melber pulls apart the intertwining issues of corporate profiteering, alleged Trump-era corruption, the Democratic Party's response, and blockbuster media mergers, with detailed insights from James Carville, former federal prosecutor Ankush Khaduri, entertainment powerhouse Ari Emanuel, and AG Aaron Ford. The episode is high-energy, candid, and packed with tough questions about America's direction, corruption, and the intersection of business and politics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Big Oil Windfalls & The Trump-Era "Shakedown"

[01:01–04:54]

• Melber frames the news: Exxon and Chevron reported record second-quarter profits, with Exxon making $14 billion (double the prior year) and Chevron up to $12 billion (a 300%+ increase).
• Connection to war: The spike is linked to the ongoing Iran conflict, which has disrupted oil supplies and jacked up prices at the pump and across supply chains.
• Trump's personal stakes: Trump holds shares in both Exxon and Chevron, raising allegations of self-dealing and a so-called "Trump transaction tax," where companies reportedly make off-the-books payments directly to Trump projects.
• Corruption claims: Melber likens the dynamic to kleptocracies, noting “no other president has been so brazen as to take this much money out of US Companies and foreign governments for their own personal benefit.”
• Impact on everyday Americans: Prices for gas, goods, and healthcare rise, while average citizens bear the costs as oil executives and those in Trump’s circle profit.

Notable Quote – Ari Melber [02:13]:

“We’re replacing the free market with the market for Trump’s affections.”

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2. Economic Hardship & the Democratic Party's Struggles (w/ James Carville)

[04:54–12:56, resumes at 14:31–19:24]

• Rising costs, GOP positions: Melber skewers Trump officials’ “let them eat liver” advice as Americans struggle with affordability and Social Security cuts.
• Carville’s hard truth: Declares the country has “lost a war to a third-rate power,” warning the U.S. faces perilous corruption and debt, with the Democratic Party failing to rise to the moment.
• Dem splits and priorities: Carville criticizes Democrats for focusing on secondary issues rather than the “grave peril” facing the country.
• 2026 midterms forecast: Carville predicts a major defeat for Trump, even suggesting (“trolling” as Melber put it) Trump will “walk away” in the face of loss.
• Advocacy for anti-corruption: Carville pleads for a Democratic candidate to actually run on anti-corruption, lamenting a lack of policy focus on ethics.

Notable Quotes:

• James Carville [06:36]:

  “We have lost a war... Our debt to GDP ratio is higher than after WWII. Staggering debt, defeat, and corruption.”

• Carville [09:41]:

  “I think he’s a washed up, fat old man... He’s not skilled enough, not tough enough. He is going to walk away. He is not going to be able to deal with the massive defeat coming his way.”

• Carville [17:36]:

  “Have you seen one Democrat say, I have a code of ethics plan? We’re not addressing the fundamental problem.”

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3. Corruption as the Core Problem

[15:11–19:24]

• National and local examples: Discussion pivots to Texas, with Carville lambasting Ken Paxton’s corruption as symbolic of a national crisis.
• Cost of corruption: Americans have lost ~$1,100 since the war began; Carville insists corruption, not just economics, is at the root of American decline.
• Call to action: Carville urges the media and politicians to focus on endemic corruption, insisting that fighting it should be a campaign centerpiece.

Notable Quote – James Carville [15:16]:

“The biggest problem in this country today is the breathtaking, sweeping corruption... You can’t solve affordability, can’t solve costs, can’t solve anything when you’re shaking people down for $50 million.”

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4. Legal Setbacks & DOJ “Humiliation” (w/ Ankush Khaduri)

[21:58–25:45]

• Reflecting pool controversy: Trump’s DOJ drops a politically charged case after admitting the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was damaged by a botched installation, not vandalism as first alleged.
• Symbol of deeper issues: Khaduri blasts the DOJ’s “bungling” as emblematic of wider abuses, warning that professional consequences may arise for those responsible.
• Self-dealing scandal: Discussion of the Trump administration’s persistent efforts to secure personal payout schemes, such as the stalled Todd Blanche AG nomination.

Notable Quotes:

• Ankush Khaduri [22:13]:

  “Humiliating doesn’t even begin to describe it... I can’t even begin to tell you how many things must have gone wrong. The investigation had to go wrong... It’s very disturbing.”

• Ari Melber [24:04]:

  “It relates to the wider corruption, not, I think, too strong a word, under Todd Blanche.”

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5. The Paramount-Warner Merger Battle (w/ Ari Emanuel & AG Aaron Ford)

[26:16–39:53]

• Industry shake-up: The proposed merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. (including CNN, HBO) faces a legal block by state AGs on antitrust grounds.
• Ari Emanuel’s defense: Argues the merger is necessary to help Hollywood compete with streaming giants and is not as monopolistic as opponents claim—“False narrative... blocking this doesn’t create more competition, it creates two weaker players.”
• Democratic AGs’ concern: Nevada's AG Aaron Ford insists consolidation would dangerously concentrate media power, controlling “85 out of 100 movies” and “59/100 cable channels.”
• Political undertones: Emanuel posits that the real issue is anxiety over Trump-friendly control of CNN, suggesting AGs are using antitrust lawsuits as a pretext.
• Global context: Emanuel notes that 65 countries have approved the merger and argues that letting a handful of state AGs block it could make the U.S. look unstable to the world.

Notable Quotes:

• Ari Emanuel [31:41]:

  “Blocking this deal in my opinion does not create more competition. It just permits two weaker players in the marketplace.”

• AG Aaron Ford [32:36]:

  “This proposed merger breaks the law. It breaks century-old antitrust law. It’s anti-competitive. It will raise prices.”

• Ari Emanuel [35:54]:

  “I think it’s a false narrative. They just don’t want David Ellison’s father, quote unquote, controlling CNN.”

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6. Culture & Obama’s Summer Playlist

[40:26–43:02]

• Obama’s influence: Segment closes with a lighter look at Barack Obama’s annual public playlist, blending contemporary hip-hop, classics (the Beatles), and activism.
• Music as connection: Brief chat about the Obama Presidential Center’s focus on music storytelling, with Melber underscoring the unifying power of music.

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Carville’s firebrand critique:
  “This is a staggeringly corrupt era we live in. And I think you as a host... or me as a commentator, we got to remind people the corruption is what’s dragging us out.” [15:16]
• Khadhuri on DOJ’s failure:
  “Humiliating doesn’t even begin to describe it... emblematic of what is wrong with this department and this administration.” [22:13]
• Ari Emanuel, bucking AGs:
  “If we’re going to become a banana republic, like, I wish we had the filibuster, you couldn’t do this... We’re a banana republic if this happens.” [37:33 & 38:31]
• Melber distills the episode:
  “We’re replacing the free market with the market for Trump’s affections.” [02:13]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:01–04:54] – Oil company windfalls, Trump’s conflicting interests, and corruption allegations
• [06:34–12:56] – James Carville on U.S. decline, Democratic missteps, call for new leadership
• [14:31–19:24] – Corruption as the overarching issue, Texas as an example, Carville’s anti-corruption plea
• [21:58–25:45] – Legal setbacks for Trump DOJ, botched reflecting pool case, Blanche AG controversy
• [26:16–39:53] – Paramount-Warner merger debate: Antitrust, free speech, and media consolidation
• [40:26–43:02] – Obama’s playlist and the role of culture

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Tone and Style

• Candid, sometimes combative: Especially between Melber and Carville, and between Emanuel and his legal/political critics.
• Urgent and direct: Plenty of alarm about corruption, economic hardship, and creeping authoritarianism.
• Reflective on solutions: Multiple calls for ethical reform and robust opposition to corruption.

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Bottom Line

This episode is a vivid snapshot of America in 2026: a country grappling with the aftershocks of war, runaway corporate profits, and “breathtaking, sweeping corruption.” Ari Melber, with his signature incisiveness, explores the disillusionment and infighting on both sides—with James Carville’s blunt warnings, Ankush Khaduri’s legal perspective, and Ari Emanuel’s industry-insider take on media power. Whether discussing gas prices or mega-mergers, the throughline is the urgent need to confront systemic corruption for the sake of democracy and the everyday American.

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Transcript

[Narrator/Commercial Announcer]

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[Ari Melber]

Welcome to the Beat. I'm Ari Melber and we have a lot going on. James Carville standing by, and we can't wait to have the raging Cajun weigh in on everything. I'll see you in a minute. I'm going to set it up with of course, Trump ending the week with a lot of problems. Some say he hasn't made America great again. Maybe he's made Iran great again with their leverage over the Strait. And now he's making oil companies great again. Big oil we can report tonight. Now formally raking in the expected record profits all because of the Iran war. Exxon making 14 billion during the second quarter. That is double the same period last year. Chevron 12 billion. That is up over 300%. Now, we've said around here before, you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. And you don't need to be some kind of oil economist to understand why they're making that money. They're making it off you and anyone else who seems to have to buy oil today or of course, do anything that involves a supply chain. So whether you drive a car or you get in an Uber or you have something shipped, all of this money's up. We, you, we're all paying for it. The oil companies are making the money. We are paying more for gas. Trump, we should note, since he insists on trading so much, has shares in Exxon and Chevron. Critics argue there is a wider ring of corruption. Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal with an expose today reporting on what many see as Donald Trump's sort of shakedown of American business. What you see in a kleptocracy or sometimes in socialist countries where the government has too much control of the markets. The Journal reports that Trump is fixated on taking money from America's top companies. Not through democracy, where you might tax them in a normal way or have Congress and the American public involved, but rather he just wants to pull up about 800 million by shaking them down. And then that money goes not again to the general welfare. If you taxed companies and supported, say, Americans healthcare, well, that would be democracy. But instead it's all personal with him routing it to the pet projects or the reflecting pool. The ballroom. Companies have traded notes about what one Wall street analyst calls the Trump transaction tax, the Journal reports in this expose, which are payments outside of the cost of normally doing business. Another way of saying it is simply that we're replacing the free market with the market for Trump's affections. Remember, there are all kinds of debates in American politics. Larger government are small, more government intervention are less, more liberal or more conservative. That's not what we're living through, particularly in the unbridled second term of the Trump era, which might be one reason why he's so unpopular and so many independents and conservatives have turned against him. Because it's not just betraying conservative principles. It's a type of self dealing and corruption that most people don't recognize as ever occupying the White House. No other president has been so brazen as to take this much money out of US Companies and foreign governments for their own personal benefit. And then we have the petty projects that again, as people pay higher gas prices, just sort of undercut his credibility. 5 mil to wrap Washington statues in gold leaf while Americans pay these higher gas prices and higher inflationary prices. And then we get this kind of advice from Trump officials.

[James Carville]

Most of the cheap cuts of meat are very inexpensive. If you buy a porterhouse, egg or steak, it is going to set you back.

[Ankush Khaduri]

You can buy liver or the cheaper

[James Carville]

cuts of steak that are very, very affordable.

[Ari Melber]

We once had let the meat cake. Now we have let the meat liverpool come on. Now you can say, well, that's RFK Jr. And he does what he does. But there is a wider problem for Trump and a Republican Party running against these headwinds. One Republican is on the Senate floor saying Social Security is a scam. Not exactly the message you want in a midterm race in Florida. I can tell you that Trump officials have changed rules that raise drug prices on seniors. The uninsured crisis rolls on. We were covering that earlier this week. There aren't always video headlines sort of ways to show this story, but the GOP cuts to healthcare are pushing people off insurance and putting more people in emergency rooms. The safety net undercut, the price of gas up. And the only people who seem to be looking around and saying, yeah, this sounds good, more of this are people in Trump's family and inner circle who are corruptly benefiting and apparently those oil executives who make a lot of money off you paying higher gas prices. Not every story is this simple, but this one is. If you ain't an oil executive or a Trump family member, I'm not sure that you would look at the last few months as anything you want more of. And that's why Republicans are so panicked about these midterms. I want to bring in, as promised, legendary Democratic strategist James Carville. James, your view on this framework going into what are now midterms in 95 days.

[James Carville]

I like your introduction. This is the 31st of July, last day of July. Let's take the plane another 10,000ft. This is the truth. We have lost a war. We lost a war to the third wave power. Get over. Right now, our debt to GDP ratio, I think, is higher than it was in 1946 after we actually won a war. Right. And then today in the Wall Street Journal, which you alluded to very justifiably and very perceptively, a woman by the name of o', Rourke, Meredith o', Rourke, is the president's fundraiser. And she says she calls donors that have met with the president and says, the president wants this money now. Pay up. And it goes between 5 and $50 million. That's the staggering level of debt defeat and corruption that the United States of America at the end of July in 2026 is facing. And I've got to tell you, I am not impressed by the response of a lot of people in the Democratic Party. We're having a race in Michigan partnership. We're talking about Palestinian self determination. We're having a race in Wisconsin. We're talking about whether we should tax Harley Davidson 17%. We're not meeting the moment. The Democratic Party, this country is in grave peril. And in my opinion, the Democratic Party is not meeting the moment. Now people will say, well, you got to have a presidential candidate. My hope and my prayers. Anybody, any Democrat out there thinking, run for president, you have something to offer. For God's sakes, run, run, offer something. Because we're not getting. We've got Nothing but problems. We're getting stupid talking points about a war that's going on for 5,000 years and not likely to get solved between 9 and election day. But right now, I think your opening was good. I think the state of the country is even more perilous than you even let on to be.

[Ari Melber]

All right, well, you've given us, James, two roads. The road to the Democratic Party intramural debate of which you were always a proud, unafraid warrior. And the economy. I'm gonna start with the economy and then come back to the other one. But the Wall Street Journal calls it a tepid Trump economy. Seth Meyers, where you look at whether Trump's become a punchline saying this. He said he would make America affordable.

[Ankush Khaduri]

He would do it on day one.

[Ari Melber]

At a rally this week, he reflected on that promise.

[Public Health Announcer]

Let's hear how things are going.

[Ari Melber]

You know, they have this term. So here I am, I'm one day in office and the fake news goes, affordability. Affordability.

[James Carville]

I said, what's affordability?

[Ari Melber]

What's that all about?

[Ari Emanuel]

What do you mean, what's affordability?

[Ari Melber]

You're the one who said it. You said we were going to make America affordable again. Affordability is the noun form of the adjective affordable.

[Ari Emanuel]

You drop out,

[Ari Melber]

James.

[James Carville]

So if I were putting my Democratic talking points in order, I would say, well, sir, you said during the campaign you would get prices down from day one. Day one is not a made up myth about Democrats. He actually said that. All right. I don't think Trump matters that much anymore. I think he's a washed up, fat old man. I think he's going to, in spite of everything that Democrats are doing, he's going to have a massive loss in November. And I've said this repeatedly, I think he's going to walk away. I don't think he's capable of leading this country. I don't think he has the energy. I don't think he has the.

[Ari Melber]

What does walk away mean? Are you trolling now? I got. You're trolling. You think, you think he's going to quit?

[Ari Emanuel]

Yes.

[James Carville]

Walk away, Renee. You too young to remember that song, but it was a great song. I had a girlfriend in high school named Renee. I love the song. Walk Away, Renee. He is going to walk away. He is not skilled enough. He is not tough enough. He is not going to be able to deal with the massive defeat. He's coming his way. And we need to be less obsessed with Trump and more obsessed with how do we get out of this horrific mess. We in and we're not going to get out by solving the Israeli, Palestinian, Mideast. That's not going to happen.

[Ari Melber]

We're not going to get our. Let's go there. You said. Yeah, the Iran war is six months, which is a lot longer than Trump

[James Carville]

thought it would be.

[Ari Melber]

The Mideast conflict over religion, geography. There are fights between different sects of Islam. There's fights between different sects of the Jewish religion. There's what's going on in Israel, there's Netanyahu. You're saying that you think the Democratic Party, what I mean, it can advocate for human rights. You're saying it's getting too sidelined on that when there's bigger proverbial fish to fry.

[James Carville]

Right now, the United States needs to reestablish the fact that it is a powerful nation of which it is neither right now. And if we want to play a role in the Middle east and other people, we can't do this by being the feeble, flaccid country that we are today. And until we come to grips with that, no one's going to pay any attention to us. They don't pay attention to us right now.

[Ari Emanuel]

They don't care.

[James Carville]

The Iranians, who by any stretch of imagination is maybe a second and a half third rate power. The United States is the first rate power on steroids. Israel is a, I don't know, almost a first rate power. They're beating the tar out of us. They're willing let us surrender. And until we come, My point is, until we come to a fundamental understanding of what our position is, we can't solve it. And I can't come on here and be a chair. Go team, go. USA. We got it. We're the greatest. 250 years. I just hate to say this, Ori, but we're in a ditch right now and we gotta recognize that and we gotta pull out of it. I really mean that. I don't get in trouble, but I don't care.

[Ari Melber]

Well, you never mind in trouble. We have our shortest break, 90 seconds. James stays. We will be right back with James Carville.

[James Carville]

Thank you.

[Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford]

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[Narrator/Commercial Announcer]

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[Ari Melber]

we're back with James Carville. One of the best election experts in the country speaks truth to power. Said on air tonight that Donald Trump will quit before his term is up. So we'll run that tape someday whether you're right or wrong. But I wanted to show you Texas. A lot of folks are looking at this and saying it is different this year. Trump intervened to pick what looks like a weaker scandal played candidate in Paxton. Talarico is a different kind of Democrat. And the Times had them really close. Fox has Talarico slightly up, margin of error. Texas Tribune has him up 5. Do you believe these numbers and what's happening in Texas?

[James Carville]

What's happening in Texas is the same thing I think is happening in the United States. Ken Paxton is a uniquely and deeply corrupt person. Everything about him reeks of corruption. That's at the core of who he is. That to me is what's happening in the United States. And people say, oh, no, it's about cost, prices, affordability. I think the biggest problem in this country today is the breathtaking, sweeping corruption that we have everywhere. And you can't solve affordability. You can't solve costs. You can't solve anything. When you're shaking people down for $50 million, you're starting a war that's costing the American average American citizen. I don't know, something like $1,100 since it started. You point out ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell are making 60 gazillion dollars in profit until we address the core problem, which is corruption. And it's the problem with Ken Paxton. But deeply corrupt man in every sense that you can imagine. The president wants his money. A deeply corrupt place. I don't think affordability or cost or anything like that or it's the economy, stupid. I think this is a staggeringly corrupt era we live in. And I think you as a common host of an important TV show or me as a commentator, we got to remind people the corruption is what's dragging us out. If you get priced out, you have this kind of corruption, it's not going to do you any good. It's going to go right back up.

[Ari Melber]

I, I think, I think you're hitting it. And, you know, I was talking about it with our team in the newsroom here today. Like, the abuse of power is the first core concern in any system. And the founders had their little rules. Some of them worked, some of them didn't. The idea that you're going to let people like Trump and his family pocket billions of dollars by abusing power and then everyone else goes along with it, it's almost a Jan6level event. But just for the economy and for people's trust in whether this government's gonna regulate and protect what they do. I mean, do you, what do you think Democrats should say about that in a way that connects because it's more tangible than some of the other rule of law issues, which are important in a different way.

[James Carville]

So let me give you just something stupid and cheap. Have you seen one Democrat say, I have a code of ethics plan? Or hey, I have an anti corruption plan, or this is my plan? No, because we're not addressing the fundamental problem. And maybe we can't do that in the congressional race because they go out and they take a poll and they ask people, what's the most important issue you face? With. And 31% say cost of living, inflation, 17% say democracy, and 15% say something else. If you don't address the core issue and once you bring it up, people are going to understand that when you talk about the boss wants his money, then you're going to break through and do it to people. But you can't take a poll and ask people to rank five things and then go back and regurgitate the five. And this can only be done in a presidential campaign. And man, every Democrat out there, any of you are thinking about running. Oh, man, please run. Please run. Please talk about this. And you probably won't win, but okay, most people don't win, but somebody's going to win. And I hope the person that wins is a person that goes in with a mandate and an idea how to end this staggering corruption we face as a country. And I really mean that. I'm the 82 in election day.

[Ari Melber]

We appreciate you you speak from the heart. James Carville, thanks for joining us on a Friday.

[James Carville]

Thank you. I always love being here. I don't know, I love Friday afternoon out here. Just kind of more relaxed coming at the weekend. But thank you very much. And remember, corruption is everywhere. You can't get right.

[Ari Melber]

There you go.

[James Carville]

Thank you.

[Ari Melber]

Find it and fight it. Thank you, sir. Our thanks to James Carville. By the end of the hour, I want you to know we turn away from some of the political fights to expl how Barack Obama is striking a different chord with something brand new. We will reach that by the end of the hour. We also have a special guest on the maga, billionaires who were just delayed and blocked in their bid to fast track the CNN purchase. So that's coming up by the end of the hour as well. But next, the legal humiliation for the Trump doj. Remember, we were told there was going to be a vote. There wasn't a vote. Reflecting pool charges dropped. Trump ending the week with a lot of legal losses. And wait till you hear why. Trump administration ending this week with another legal setback in developing news late today, a legal kind of humiliation for Trump's DOJ because they have dropped their much hyped case against the former Olympian David Hearn, who was charged in connection with this damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, an issue that Donald Trump chose and that has bedeviled him over the last several weeks. The DOJ has a new filing that states it's become aware of information showing that the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented by the administration. I want to repeat, a botched installation and not vandalism, which is what the administration had claimed. Think about how bad it got and how baseless the claims were that the DOJ has to now cough up and admit this. Trump administration has spent millions trying to shift the color to Donald Trump's demands. And yet, as you may have heard, it remains an algae infested, greenish kind of pool. And then Trump tried to blame vandals, not just with rhetoric or words, which the president, like any American is allowed to say things, but by using the power of his office, the power to investigate, indict and jail, which apparently looks now more and more like cover and distraction from what was either ineffective or shoddy work performed by the handpicked contractors of the Trump administration. This is not the biggest legal issue in the world and we will cover more than one legal issue with our next guest, Ankush Khaduri. But it is certainly A sign of the times. Mr. Carduri is a former federal prosecutor. He writes open file and just wrote for the New York Times, quote, there are so many reasons to reject Todd. Blanche. Here's another one. And we will get to that as well. Welcome back.

[Ankush Khaduri]

Thanks for having me.

[Ari Melber]

You are obviously very well suited to explain how many things have to go wrong for the DOJ to bring a case like this and then retract it. The floor is yours, Ari.

[Ankush Khaduri]

I don't even know where to begin. I mean, humiliating doesn't even begin to describe it. You know, the piece today was about, you know, the sort of seemingly endless bungling at the Justice Department, in addition to all the things that I'm guessing you and I both object to, the abuses of authority, the improper objectives that they're pursuing. And it is very rare, I have to say, for someone to write a piece and then the same day get more evidence for the thesis. I mean, this is. I can't even begin to tell you how many things must have gone wrong. The investigation had to go wrong. I don't know who presented this case to get it charged. They should be asking themselves questions. And then it had to have been really bad. It had to have been really bad. There had to have been very strong, contradictory evidence. There had to have been no chance that they were going to get this case over the finish line, because otherwise they pursue plenty of. Of pointless legal fights if they can. And so.

[Ari Melber]

Right. And this is.

[Ankush Khaduri]

It's bad.

[Ari Melber]

This is what our news viewers are informed. They know what a Friday night news dump looks like. They're trying to get this done on Friday, presumably because if they held the case, it would have been worse. And what, they would have been embarrassed in open court, admonished by a judge?

[Ankush Khaduri]

Yes, yes, I'm guessing that is exactly what happened. Maybe they turned over some Brady information to the defense, discovered some Brady information that they should have already had but didn't have. And yes, at some point, this, this is clearly was so bad that they knew that it would get exposed at some point during the course of the proceeding, and potentially even some of them may have had to deal with professional repercussions. I mean, this is. I agree with you. It's a small thing, but it's also emblematic of what is wrong with this department and this administration. They tried to send this guy to, you know, potentially to serve some time in custody or a fine or whatever for something that the administration itself screwed up. I mean, it's very disturbing.

[Ari Melber]

Yeah, it's a small thing. It's a green thing, much to the president's concern. But it relates to the wider corruption, not, I think, too strong a word under Todd Blanche. You've written about that. We also have this new filing in the self dealing, collusion, IRS case. New York Times says Trump to appeal it, a sign that the president is doubling down on his fight for the deal that brings him personal benefits even though they have, quote, jeopardized the confirmation of Attorney General Blanche. I have about a minute left for you on that. And the Blanche vote derailed this week.

[Ankush Khaduri]

Yeah, look, the Blanche nomination seems to be sort of on the bubble. Trump made very clear today in a social media post that he is still interested in making these payouts if they could find a way to do so. With that being said, I have to say John Cornyn and Thom Tillis are wasting their time. They will never get an assurance that these payouts will not happen unless and until they pass a law. Todd Blanche's word on this is meaningless. He won't be the attorney general forever. And he testified to them under oath that he thinks he's constitutionally obligated to do whatever he tells Blanche to do. So this is kind of devolved in sort of a classic Washington sort of kabuki, incoherent fight,

[Ari Melber]

strongly put, fairly put. And as you say, fool me once, fool me twice. They can use the power of the Congress. They have delayed and blocked the nomination. That's a step that's revealed. Trump saying no, I mean it. I still want, he still wants to fund convicts, have a future violent militia. It's all out in the open. And maybe that's the one benefit of, of the fight they had. Ankush, thanks for being here.

[Ankush Khaduri]

Thanks for having me.

[Ari Melber]

Absolutely. What's Barack Obama listening to this summer? We will tell you by the end of the hour. That should be a little fun moment. But first, the backlash to how the mergers might be strengthening the Trump administration. It's like a dark cloud. The departure of Stephen Colbert, to me,

[James Carville]

when, when institutional or political pressure, you

[Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford]

know, brings some kind of suppression of

[James Carville]

free speech, it's not a good thing.

[Ari Melber]

There's been major news that spans Hollywood all the way out to news and politics. When you look at that giant merger of Paramount and Warner Brothers, including cnn, hbo. But the big development now is the whole thing is on hold after these attorneys general across several states basically got a procedural victory on their antitrust suit. That's a setback for the merger and the Trump Allied Ellison's. Now, if the merger still ultimately goes through. If they win in court, it would consolidate two of the largest movie and TV studios into an empire. And we want to show you tonight a reminder of just how we got here and the countervailing views and pressures involved. Breaking news right now in Hollywood. Warner Brothers has signed a landmark $110 billion deal with Paramount.

[Ankush Khaduri]

If my company's got that kind of

[James Carville]

green, I'm sure they can afford to un cancel one of their best shows.

[Ari Emanuel]

The FCC and Donald Trump being explicit

[Ari Melber]

and both with kind of background suasion that by far he prefers Paramount.

[Ari Emanuel]

And the Ellisons taking this.

[James Carville]

The people that have run CNN for the last long period of time are a disgrace. I think it's imperative that CNN be

[Ari Melber]

sold more fake news from cnn. The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.

[Ari Emanuel]

Tell your state attorneys general to block

[James Carville]

the Paramount Warner Brothers merger.

[Public Health Announcer]

We sued because this proposed merger breaks the law. It breaks century old antitrust law. It's anti competitive.

[Ankush Khaduri]

It will raise prices.

[Ari Emanuel]

I would a kind of robust marketplace. Price and market share are the issues.

[Ari Melber]

A judge temporarily blocked the merger between

[Ankush Khaduri]

Paramount and Warner Brothers.

[Ari Melber]

As you can see, strong views on all sides, high stakes. And one of the voices there you just heard was a major Hollywood player. You've certainly heard of him, the executive chairman of WME Group, a CEO of the TKO agency and really one of the most famous super agents in our time, Ari Emanuel, who has a new Wall Street Journal op ed arguing for this controversial merger. The Paramount Warner merger could save Hollywood, where he argues this antitrust lawsuit puts the entertainment industry at risk. They say they're protecting competition. Their actions threaten to destroy it. Emmanuel, of course, is a business leader, pioneering agent who's shaped a lot of what constitutes modern Hollywood. He's represented stars in film, tv, sports and news. He doesn't represent me, but he does, you should know, represent some of our colleagues both on this channel and other major news stars. He's the founder of the global events and experiences company Mari and also co hosts the podcast Rushmore which looks at who should be involved in sort of the Goat or Mount Rushmore level leaders of their field, which is why he joined us last time. And if you go back far enough, you might know that Ari Gold, the HBO Entourage character, of course is fictional, but many say inspired by Ari. Ari Emanuel joins me now. Welcome back.

[Ari Emanuel]

Hey, how are you?

[Ari Melber]

I'm good. We got a lot in your introduction. We're good. We got a lot in your introduction. You've done a lot of things and you know this is controversial on this program we recently had one of the attorneys general who's opposed to the deal and says it's not only bad for diversity in media, it could be bad for democracy. Why are you writing now that it could be good?

[Ari Emanuel]

So can I frame things a little bit? So the states claim that giving one company too much influence over theatrical release and cable operators is bad. And then the WGA argues that the combination hurts writers both, I think. Imagine a Hollywood that doesn't exist anymore in today's world. If you put Paramount and Warner's together, they account for less than the TV viewing, which includes streaming and cable and network, less than 20%. If you add YouTube, it's probably in the 13%. The combined company, I think last year did 18% of theatrical releases. Over the last six years it was 22%. The AGs just forgot to include Lionsgate, MGM, Amazon, A24, both had huge movies recently. So I think it's just a false narrative what they're talking about. And then I would just say the following. David Ellison has committed to 30 movies. Adam Aaron from AMC just endorsed the deal. If the AG thinks that theatrical is too much one, the percentages are wrong and less than they say and he's given them a 45 day window, which is what Adam Aaron and I think other theatrical companies are going to come out and say. Plus he's going to do over 170 TV shows, commit to $30 billion of spend. We've gone through six years, we had the COVID years and then the strike of really hurting the theatrical business and the production business and et cetera.

[Ari Melber]

Sure.

[Ari Emanuel]

Blocking this deal in my opinion does not create more competition. It just permits two weaker players in the marketplace. And I don't think the AGs, because you're just going to have two guys that cannot compete with, you know, 250 to 300 million subs in the stream here. Because it's not the movie business or television of old, it's of the new, which streaming has to be part of.

[Ari Melber]

Well, let me jump in that league. Let me jump in. That's one of the most interesting arguments you make, which is not that things might have been more diverse in the past. I think a lot of people could agree on that depending on the year you pick. But wake up and deal with the world we're in, which involves the Internet and streaming. I want to play one of the attorneys general though, so you can have the benefit of responding. We heard their side. Listen to this is Nevada AG Aaron Ford.

[Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford]

There are several antitrust violations associated with this merger, and we have two big companies here, a movie company, TV companies that are trying to become one. And if that happens, we're going to see four companies of a lift that control almost all of the movies you see in theaters. Together, those four companies are going to control 85 out of 100 movies that are released in our movie theaters. This merger is going to combine two of the five biggest owners of basic cable TV. And so together they'd own about 59 out of every 100 cable channels in the country.

[Ari Melber]

You spoke to part of that, but what do you say to. Wait, wait. What do you say to someone watching who says, well, wait a minute. If they control more movies and CBS and CNN and HBO and they have a government link that a lot of people, as you know, are suspicious of, what do you say to the viewer that says, I'd take things the way they are over that kind of consolidation,

[Ari Emanuel]

take the government link, put it to the side. We're going to argue back and forth. David has voted for Republicans, he's voted for Democrats. There's a way to handle that as it relates, as I said to you, as it relates to the theatrical business. Right. They're committed to 30 movies over the time their spend is going to be, you know, enormous. And you're talking about the percentage of the movie business, if you look at it over the last six years, is down to 22%. And they've already spent. They went from eight movies to 15 movies this year. And the head of the AMC, the largest theatrical release company, I believe the rest are coming, have endorsed the deal. And as I said, on the cable television and streaming side, I think the number is 20%. When you add YouTube, it's like 13% of total viewership. So it's just like a false narrative, really, what's going on. In my opinion, the attorney generals one is I don't think that people understand the kind of current environment we live in. The attorney generals are kind of using the antitrust enforcement as a tool to disagree potentially with the CNN editorial perspective that might be coming. I think there's a way to handle that. Here's what I would say to you.

[Ari Melber]

Well, let me. I'm going to slow you down again.

[Ari Emanuel]

No problem.

[Ari Melber]

It's Ari versus Ari. What you're saying, it sounds like is you are concerned that the Democratic attorney generals are using antitrust to get into the courtroom, but it's not really an antitrust thing. They're using it as a pretext because they're worried that CNN's gonna be magnified. What is your sort of cause?

[Ari Emanuel]

None of the numbers. None of the numbers as it relates to.

[Ari Melber]

What's your evidence for that and why would that be a problem? You get the floor.

[Ari Emanuel]

I just went through the numbers. They said it's about theatrical. The percentages say it can't be about theatrical. And the head of the distribution business, the largest distributor, said, we want the deal. So it can't be about theatrical. And on viewership, it's less than 13% or less than 20% if you don't include.

[Ari Melber]

No, I get you on the numbers, but how do you know that? You're a savvy guy. People know. Your brother's Rahm Emanuel. You have reason to believe these Democratic attorneys generals are what, not on the level you're saying?

[Ari Emanuel]

Yeah, I think it's a false narrative. So they just don't want David Ellison's father, quote, unquote, controlling cnn. You actually heard this in a weird way. You heard this from Norm Eisen. You know, he did a tweet. He talked about it. He talked about. This is about. He did two tweets. He talked about. This is about cnn. It's not me supposing this Norm Eisen has actually gone on record and saying. And kind of so has Banta. So here's what I would say to you. I'm actually, I'm happy that we have the filibuster in place because if we got rid of it during the Democratic, when the Democrats were in control, imagine post that which a lot of people scream they wanted. The Republicans now didn't have a filibuster and they could make any laws they wanted. So here's. Let's take this out to its full thing. So by using. This has now been approved. This has now been approved by, I think it's 65 countries, this deal, this merger, EU all over the world. So now we're saying. And the United States, you can tell me all the reasons why. So now we're saying that even though 65 countries, every country in the world has approved it, an attorney general in California, New York, et cetera, can block it. Then when the Democrats get in power, Republican attorney general complaints.

[Ari Melber]

Well, not blocked. They can't block it forever. They can delay it.

[Ari Emanuel]

Okay, okay. Delay it. So if we're going to become a banana republic, like, I wish we had the filibuster, you couldn't do this. I actually think this is harmful. First of all, I think it's a constitutional crisis. Two, I do think if that is the case, the Capital flows in our country are so great because we have a country that you pass a law and you approve a deal and the rest of the world approves a deal, you get to go ahead with the deal. These attorney generals and Norm Eisen and all that whole group is saying, no, we don't approve it. We want to block it. We want a filibuster. We want to take, get rid of the filibuster. We want states to be able to block things that the whole country, whole world has approved. We're a banana republic. If this happens. And I don't think they realize I'm running over the fact that structures of money coming in.

[Ari Melber]

I'll give you the, I'll give you the final 30 seconds. I'm running over. But what you're arguing is if in the end the deal goes through but a small group of people can upend an entire industry and the control of CNN and all of these jobs, then that might not be an efficient system, which I think on policy is a fair criticism. The flip side, though, to your argument would be if they actually stop the deal on antitrust grounds, then the court system work because they're allowed to have their day in court. I give you the final 30 seconds.

[Ari Emanuel]

They're not allowed to cherry pick when and where they want to do stuff. We have a federal government that says, hey, we have approved this deal. Every other country in the world has approved the deal. And then rogue attorney generals in states complain we are affecting this is a constitutional issue. We're affecting economic flows to the country. And this state over six years has had a huge problem with movies because of COVID and the strike.

[Ari Melber]

I hear that. No, I hear that.

[Ari Emanuel]

And the leading people, the movie theaters actually want it.

[Ari Melber]

Yeah.

[Ari Emanuel]

But behind the scenes, they're all saying this is really about cnn.

[Ari Melber]

Well, I'm over. I'm over on time. We heard as we'd like to do around here. We heard from the attorneys general. We've heard from you. And you're an insider, knowledgeable. We'll hear from the Ellisons if they want to come on. Ari, I appreciate you joining.

[Ari Emanuel]

No problem. I appreciate it.

[Ari Melber]

All right, thanks. Ari Emanuel joining us. We'll be right back. If you've ever wondered what's on Barack Obama's playlist, well, you don't have to because he has made an annual tradition of sharing a summer playlist which is of interest to music fans and politicos alike. We have the brand new one, the former president highlighting contemporary artists that he likes as well as Some classics. In fact, he just spoke about how music unites us.

[James Carville]

The heart of the presidential center is going to be the music studio to where kids are learning how to tell stories through music. What that does is it builds a community of activists and it reminds people you're not alone.

[Ari Melber]

You're not alone. And there's more than one way to engage. We know that music and lyrics, of course, can connect people in all sorts of ways. Now, when you look at some of the more recent artists, California rapper Vince Staples song White Flag makes the Obama list, where he says sometimes love can turn to war I've seen it all before not far from par the course Try not to get too lost it ain't no coming back soon as you're back against the wall. Obama also has some classics that he apparently is listening to right now because he includes the Beatles, Revolution, and I bet you know that one. You say you want a revolution well, you know we all want to change the world when you talk about destruction don't you know that you can count me out? Don't you know that it's going to be all right? And another new artist who we saw take a big Grammy turn, Dochi's song Girl get up, which addresses not only racism, but the way we sometimes talk to each other online. Referring to the accusations that she was some sort of manufactured star. She says all that industry plant stuff is whack. I see it on the blogs, I see you in the chats. But what's the agenda when the it girl black y' all can't fathom that I work this hard. The list also gets right up in the hip hop sort of discourse. We know that Obama is a longtime rap fan. He talked about that on the campaign trail. There are remnants of the Drake Kendrick battle and finding love

[Ankush Khaduri]

outside is better

[Ari Melber]

than what it was. You know what I'm saying? Atlanta tell you about my run you

[Ankush Khaduri]

know what I'm saying?

[James Carville]

I been a minor for a heart of gold Life gets dark when you're

[Ari Emanuel]

dark like me Times get hard with a heart this big and if you

[James Carville]

feel like I feel, baby then come

[Ari Melber]

on oh, come on let's get. We could all use some of that right now. Each of those songs was on the new playlist. You can Google Obama's playlist to find it yourself. And I will note as a music listener, he has very diverse and eclectic tastes for a playlist, which usually makes for a good one. We'll be right back.

[Public Health Announcer]

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[Ari Melber]

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[Public Health Announcer]

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[Commercial Voiceover]

on Monday.com home to the Rachel Maddow Show, Morning Joe, the Briefing with Jen Psaki and more. Voices you know and trust. Ms. Now is your source for for news, opinion and the world. Learn more at Ms. Now.

[Ari Melber]

Wishing you a good weekend and we will be back tomorrow at 6pm Eastern for the Beat Weekend. I invite you to come join us at 6pm all kinds of fun stuff there, including catching up on what you might have missed. That's 6pm Eastern tomorrow. Mark your calendar or put it in your phone and we wish you a great weekend. That does it for us. Have you ever wanted to share your opinions with Ms. Now about our TV

[Public Health Announcer]

programs, podcast, podcasts, live events and more? Now's your chance to have your voice heard. Join the MSNow Insights community at Ms. Now Insights.