Donald Trump, Jr. and Elon Musk jokingly floated the idea of purchasing MSNBC.
On Friday, the president-elect’s eldest son and the billionaire entrepreneur commented on social media platform X about taking over the network.
This comes after parent company Comcast revealed plans for a massive corporate reorganization.
According to the announcement, Comcast will spin off most of its cable networks, including MSNBC, E!, CNBC, USA, Oxygen, SYFY, and the Golf Channel. This will create a new, publicly-traded entity from those channels dubbed “SpinCo.” Meanwhile, NBC and Bravo will remain under Comcast.
The announcement prompted Trump Jr. to pitch a proposal to the SpaceX CEO and Tesla co-founder.
“Hey, @elonmusk I have the funniest idea ever!” Trump Jr. wrote in a Friday post on X.
“How much does it cost?” Musk asked in response.
Notably, this was the same question Musk asked in December 2017 when a user on Twitter suggested that he purchase the social media platform.
Trump Jr. responded to Musk’s question by criticizing the network’s value.
“I mean it can’t be much. Look at the ratings,” he stated.
On Saturday, podcaster Joe Rogan later joined the conversation, joking that he would also like to get involved and replace one of the hosts. MSNBC is home to anchors Joy Reid, Lawrence O’Donnell, and Rachel Maddow.
“If you buy MSNBC I would like Rachael Maddow’s job,” Rogan posted on X. “ I will wear the same outfit and glasses, and I will tell the same lies.”
Musk then called it a “deal.”
Similar to other parent companies, Comcast has recently shifted its business focus away from traditional cable and more toward streaming and other sources of revenue.
“This transaction positions both SpinCo and NBCUniversal to play offense in a changing media landscape,” Mike Cavanagh, president of Comcast, said in a statement.
Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast, said that the new SpinCo will be “ideally positioned for success” and attractive to investors and potential partners. It will also have the support of “significant financial resources from day one,” according to Roberts.
But Paul Verna, principal analyst and vice president of content for market research company eMarketer, said that Comcast’s restructuring plan suggests that it realized that the cable networks were struggling.
“The writing is on the wall that the cable TV business is a dwindling business,” Verna said in a statement. “That’s why Comcast did what it did today.”
Howard Gutman, private equity strategy and coverage lead for MorganFranklin Consulting, believes that the changes will create more options for consumers and also paves the way for cable networks to monetize their content or expand their brands.
“I think it will open up opportunities,” Gutman said.
Meanwhile, Comcast announced that Mark Lazarus, the current chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, will lead SpinCo as the company’s CEO.
Anand Kini, the current Chief Financial Officer of NBCUniversal and EVP of Corporate Strategy at Comcast, will serve as its chief financial officer and chief operating officer.
The spin-off is targeted for completion in about a year.
Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough joked about his own fate and the future of the MSNBC show following Comcast’s announcement, suggesting on-air that they could all be fired in a year.
“Or tomorrow,” co-host Mika Brzezinski said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.