President Donald Trump has claimed that CNN founder Ted Turner was "personally devastated" after selling the news network to Time Warner, claiming that the new owners destroyed the network because it became "woke". Despite this, there is no evidence of Turner ever criticizing CNN's coverage. He sold CNN in 1996 and was valued at around $2.8 billion. The president expressed hope that David Ellison, the billionaire owner of Paramount Skydance, who has secured a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, could restore CNN's credibility and glory. However, Ellison has pledged that CNN will remain an editorially independent news organization.