Trump’s Disney-Fox Nod Seen as Liability for Antitrust Cops

President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Walt Disney Co.’s proposed purchase of 21st Century Fox Inc. ahead of any government antitrust review highlights a growing political problem for U.S. regulators, policy analysts told Bloomberg Law.

Trump, unlike most other recent presidents, hasn’t shied away from weighing in on high-profile mergers, a shift that troubles some competition advocates who fear antitrust law may be used as a political tool.

“Every time the president gets involved in one of these deals, it has the potential to raise questions,” Joshua Stager, policy counsel for the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute, told Bloomberg Law. ...