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President Donald Trump reacted on Wednesday to the passing of Ted Turner, founder of CNN, by posting an emotional message on Truth Social, which was amplified by the official White House account on X hours after the news broke.
Turner passed away this Wednesday at the age of 87, surrounded by his family. The reported causes include dementia and pneumonia, ailments that had been afflicting him for several years.
In his statement, Trump referred to Turner as "one of the greats of all time" and described him as a personal friend: "Whenever I needed him, he was there, always ready to fight for a good cause."
But the presidential message was not limited to praise. Trump seized the opportunity to criticize the editorial direction of CNN following its sale. He claimed that Turner was "devastated" by the transaction as the new owners destroyed his "baby." CNN "became woke, everything he does not represent."
The president expressed hope that the new buyers—whom he referred to as "wonderful people"—can restore to the chain "its former credibility and glory."
This comment is particularly relevant in the current context: in May 2026, Paramount Skydance agreed to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery - the parent company of CNN - for approximately $110 billion, which would make the network part of a new media conglomerate.
Trump's post garnered over 274,000 views, 9,700 likes, and 1,800 retweets in just a few hours, reflecting the impact of the news.
Turner, whose full name was Robert Edward Turner III, was born on November 19, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and on June 1, 1980, founded CNN, the world's first 24-hour cable news channel that revolutionized global journalism.
In 1996, Turner Broadcasting System was sold to Time Warner in a deal valued at $7.5 billion, although he never hid his regret over losing control of his network.
In October 2018, Turner publicly revealed that she was suffering from Lewy body dementia, describing it as "a mild case of what people have as Alzheimer's," and humorously admitted that "she couldn't remember the name of her illness."
Beyond CNN, Turner built a media and sports empire: he was the owner of the Atlanta Braves -with whom he won the World Series in 1995- and the Atlanta Hawks, launched TNT in 1988, Cartoon Network in 1992, and Turner Classic Movies in 1994.
In 1997, he donated 1 billion dollars to UN causes, creating the United Nations Foundation, which mobilized nearly 2 billion dollars in direct support for the organization by 2022.
Mark Thompson, president and CEO of CNN Worldwide, paid tribute to the founder with a phrase that summarizes his legacy: "Ted is the giant whose shoulders we stand upon."
The Atlanta Braves also bid him farewell on social media, describing him as "one of a kind: a brilliant entrepreneur, consummate showman, and passionate fan of his beloved Braves."
The relationship between Trump and CNN has historically been tense: the president coined the term "Fake News" to refer to the network and repeatedly called it the "Clinton News Network."
However, in his statement on Turner's death, Trump clearly distinguished between the founder - whom he praised as a visionary and a friend - and the editorial direction the network took after its sale, using the moment to reiterate his criticisms of the current CNN while honoring the man who created it.
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