The business magnate and broadcasting legend died on May 6 at the age of 87. Trump mourns Ted Turner as 'a friend of mine' but laments that CNN 'became woke' after he sold it The business magnate and broadcasting legend died on May 6 at the age of 87. By Ryan Coleman :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/RyanColemanauthorphoto0081ce8f0254478080f35972c433877b.jpg) Ryan Coleman Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books. EW's editorial guidelines May 6, 2026 5:26 p.m.

The business magnate and broadcasting legend died on May 6 at the age of 87.

Trump mourns Ted Turner as 'a friend of mine' but laments that CNN 'became woke' after he sold it

The business magnate and broadcasting legend died on May 6 at the age of 87.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

EW's editorial guidelines

May 6, 2026 5:26 p.m. ET

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Donald Trump and Ted Turner. Credit:

- Donald Trump mourned billionaire broadcasting entrepreneur Ted Turner after his death on May 6, calling him "a friend of mine."

- The president also claimed that Turner was "devastated" by the direction that CNN took in 1996, after Turner sold parent company Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. to Time Warner.

- "The new ownership took CNN, his 'baby,' and destroyed it," he wrote on his Truth Social platform. "It became woke, and everything that he is not all about."

Broadcasting legend Ted Turner died on Wednesday at the age of 87. But over on Truth Social, it's all about Donald Trump.

The sitting president joined the flood of tributes pouring in from Turner's friends, collaborators, and even rivals after the business mogul and CNN founder's passing. Trump did, as many others have, pay respect to Turner's considerable legacy in the media business. But he also took the opportunity, as he often does, to lodge some personal grievances.

"Ted Turner, one of the Greats of All Time, just died. He founded CNN, sold it, and was personally devastated by the Deal because the new ownership took CNN, his 'baby,' and destroyed it," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "It became woke, and everything that he is not all about."

Trump continued, "Maybe the new buyers, wonderful people, will be able to bring it back to its former credibility and glory. Regardless, however, one of the Greats of Broadcast History, and a friend of mine. Whenever I needed him, he was there, always willing to fight for a good cause!"

Representatives for both CNN and the White House declined to comment

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Jane Fonda's ex-husband, CNN and Turner Broadcasting System founder Ted Turner, dead at 87

Trump calls for 'seriously unfunny' Jimmy Kimmel to be fired ‘soon’

Turner Enterprises, the conglomerate Turner founded in 1976 to manage his vast portfolio of businesses, announced his death on Wednesday.

CNN CEO Mark Thompson mourned the network's founder in a statement that read, "Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement... He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world."

Turner's primary business, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., was a media conglomerate comprised of numerous brands, television channels, and subsidiaries, including Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies, TBS, and CNN. Founded in 1965, Turner eventually sold the company to Time Warner in 1996. Though he remained involved with the news network as Time Warner's vice chairman, he eventually stepped away altogether in the early 2000s.

Ted Turner in Atlanta in 1980.

Rick Diamond/Getty

Trump and Turner did not share a visible public friendship during the period following Turner's sale of his broadcasting corporation. Turner also often found himself on the other side of the political aisle from Trump, expressing sympathy for Palestinians amid their conflict with Israel in 2002, frequently advocating for environmental justice, and even endorsing Hilary Clinton against Trump in the 2016 presidential race.

But he did become a vocal critic of CNN, expressing his opinion in 2018 that the network had come to lean too heavily on politics. CNN is recently undergoing yet another merger, after its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, was acquired by the Trump-friendly Paramount Skydance in February.

IAC founder Barry Diller recently expressed his interest in buying CNN, remarking that he would "do it tonight and tomorrow night" before "they ruin it any further. Hopefully, before it's extinct, which, I mean, it's not gonna be." (Media conglomerate IAC owns print and digital publisher People Inc., of which * *is a part.)

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Published: May 7, 2026 at 03:00AM on Source: MORNING MAG

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