Trump says CBS under David Ellison will be ‘fairer’ but it won’t ‘become like Fox’

President Donald Trump said he expects CBS News to be “fairer” under billionaire David Ellison’s ownership and with Bari Weiss as its new editor in chief.

“I don’t expect them to become like Fox [News],” Trump told CNN in an interview that aired Wednesday. “Just fair.”

Fox News shares common ownership with The Post.

Days earlier, during a press gaggle aboard Air Force One, Trump lavished praise on Ellison and his father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who now control CBS through their $8.4 billion Paramount Skydance merger.

“Larry Ellison is great, and his son David is great. They’re friends of mine. They’re big supporters of mine,” Trump told reporters.

“They will make the right decisions. They’re going to revitalize CBS — hopefully, they’ll bring it back to its former glory.”

“They’re gonna make CBS — hopefully they’ll, you know, they called it the Tiffany Network,” Trump said.

“And it’s got great potential. CBS has great potential.”

Trump also bashed CBS News’ former “Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell after The Post reported that the longtime correspondent is rumored to be returning to an anchor spot at the network.

“So who’s going to be the head anchor at CBS?” Trump asked reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

“Not Norah O’Donnell. I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it,” he jabbed.

“You know, there’s a story that they’re gonna — I dunno,” he stopped himself.

The Ellisons’ assuming control of CBS News came months after previous parent company Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle a federal lawsuit brought by Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview last year with then–Vice President Kamala Harris.

The suit, filed in Amarillo, Texas, alleged that CBS deceptively edited Harris’s responses to favor Democrats during the campaign.

Paramount and CBS denied wrongdoing but settled in July as they sought federal approval for their merger.

Under the deal, the settlement funds were directed to Trump’s future presidential library and CBS agreed to release transcripts of future 60 Minutes interviews with presidential candidates, subject to national-security redactions.

The settlement cleared the way for regulators to approve the merger that put CBS under Skydance control.

The comments came as Ellison moves aggressively to reshape CBS News. Earlier this month, he installed Bari Weiss — a 41-year-old journalist known for her pro-Israel stance and criticism of identity politics — as editor in chief.

Ellison told employees in an Oct. 6 memo that he wanted “rigorous, fact-based reporting and a relentless commitment to amplifying voices from all corners of the spectrum.”

Weiss, founder of The Free Press, sold her startup to Paramount Skydance for $150 million as part of her hiring deal.

In her note to staff, she pledged to deliver “journalism that reports on the world as it actually is” and “journalism that holds both American political parties to equal scrutiny.”

Inside the network, Weiss’s arrival has exposed deep divisions. One veteran employee described CBS as a “snake pit,” saying some producers “would rather see the brand fail and lose their jobs than embrace change.”

“She’s going to have to win over people but those she can’t, she’s going to have to show them the door,” another staffer told The Post.

Weiss’s first move was to name Adam Rubenstein — the conservative editor who once said he was ostracized at The New York Times for liking Chick-fil-A — as her deputy. A person familiar with the decision said Weiss “trusts him implicitly.”

Within days, Weiss began steering coverage from inside CBS’s morning editorial meetings, where she pressed staff to secure interviews about the Israel-Hamas cease-fire with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, architects of President Trump’s peace plan.

The swift changes drew both attention and backlash. Former anchor Dan Rather said on his Substack that “it is a dark day in the halls of CBS News,” arguing that the Ellison family’s friendship with Trump undermines the network’s independence.

“The American people will pay the price for this move,” Rather wrote.

Tensions escalated last week after Weiss emailed staff asking them to describe their duties and recent work.

The Writers Guild of America East, which represents many CBS journalists, told members to disregard the request.

“You will not be disciplined if you do not respond to the email, indicating that a response is optional,” the union said in a message obtained by Variety.

“Any replies also will not be used against workers as a basis for discipline, discharge or layoff.”

Variety reported “mass confusion” inside the network as union members and non-union producers received conflicting guidance about Weiss’s memo.

The push to recalibrate CBS News’ editorial bent has backing from Shari Redstone, the former controlling shareholder who said recently that “news needs to be more balanced” and “fact-based.”

She added: “You’ve got to give your audience credit for being smart enough to hear different points of view.”

Weiss’s internal reviews of the CBS Evening News and CBS Mornings teams have fueled speculation about staffing changes.

O’Donnell has emerged as a potential returnee to the Evening News anchor desk, while Gayle King’s reported $15 million-a-year contract expires in May.

Some insiders say Weiss’s calm demeanor has kept the newsroom from panic.

“She’s putting people at ease even though they know cuts are coming,” one staffer said.

CBS News, Ellison, and Weiss did not respond to requests for comment.