Paramount CEO David Ellison Attends White House State Dinner for Xi Jinping as Press Access Controversy Unfolds

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison was among the high-profile guests who dined at the White House on Thursday evening during a state dinner hosted in honor of visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping. However, the high-society gathering unfolded against a backdrop of mounting tension over media freedom, as the White House blocked reporters from CNN—the news network Ellison is currently poised to acquire—and MS NOW from covering the arrival events.

Ellison attended the formal Washington soirée alongside his wife, Sandra Lynn Ellison, joining a guest list comprised of more than 100 prominent government officials, business titans, and cultural figures. The appearance comes as Ellison’s Paramount approaches the final stages of closing a massive $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. The monumental media merger cleared a significant hurdle this week after reaching a settlement with 12 Democratic state attorneys general, though the presiding judge in the case is still reviewing the proposed agreement, which does not demand major structural concessions from Paramount. Earlier this year, the Trump administration’s Justice Department approved the Paramount-WBD transaction without attaching any conditions.

The exclusive guest list for the state dinner read like a who’s who of the global technology, business, and political landscapes. Alongside Ellison, tech executives in attendance included Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Apple chairman Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Meta chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.

Other notable figures present at the White House dinner included Fox News personalities Bret Baier, Laura Ingraham, and Jesse Watters; Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy and his wife, Cheryl Hines; and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and his wife, Jane Sullivan Roberts.

White House Blocks CNN and MS NOW Despite Court Order

The festive atmosphere of the state dinner was overshadowed by a fresh clash over press freedom involving the White House and major news organizations. According to reports from CNN, the administration denied two of its staffers the ability to cover President Xi’s arrival back at the White House for the evening event. The network stated that officials attempted to dictate which specific types of journalists could cover the proceedings. A designated "press wrangler" reportedly barred a CNN producer and reporter from accessing the venue, instructing them to take the matter up with White House Communications Director Steven Cheung. Staffers from MS NOW faced similar obstruction and were prevented from covering the Chinese leader’s arrival.

This latest restriction followed a broader legal battle sparked when Donald Trump banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from participating in or covering White House events. In response to the blanket bans, the news outlets filed lawsuits, prompting a federal judge to grant a temporary restraining order requiring the administration to immediately restore their press credentials.

While the White House complied with the judicial ruling by officially reissuing press passes to staffers from the affected outlets on Thursday morning, it subsequently moved to block the networks from covering the evening’s state dinner festivities.

Political Ties and Upcoming Media Consolidation

David Ellison’s presence at the high-profile presidential dinner highlights his growing influence in both corporate media and political circles. Trump has long maintained amicable relations with both David Ellison and his father, Oracle founder and mega-billionaire Larry Ellison. The ties between the incoming media mogul and the political establishment were further underscored this past April, when David Ellison hosted an exclusive dinner party in Washington, D.C., explicitly "honoring" Trump and the First Amendment—an event that drew top executives and journalists from CBS News.

As Ellison moves closer to finalizing the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, his footprint across the American media landscape is set to expand dramatically, bringing assets like CNN under a corporate umbrella led by an executive with direct and cordial ties to the current administration.

Dinner Details, Menu, and Musical Performances

Inside the White House, First Lady Melania Trump released comprehensive details regarding the evening’s culinary offerings and entertainment. Guests were treated to a carefully curated menu beginning with a first course featuring a silky-smooth velouté crafted from sweet yellow squash. The main course consisted of sesame-crusted sea bass, served alongside braised baby bok choy and roasted garden eggplant.

For dessert, the White House kitchen presented a smooth vanilla crémeux featuring a vibrant sour cherry confit center set atop a rich walnut frangipane, accompanied by specialized ice cream churned with honey harvested directly from the White House’s own beehives.

The evening’s entertainment was anchored by classical tenor Christopher Macchio, who previously performed at Trump’s 2025 presidential inauguration. Macchio’s vocal performances were complemented by musical accompaniments provided by elite military musicians from the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army.