Rubin Report - Dave Rubin - Trump's Unexpected Ted Turner Reaction, Obama Faces Backlash, Massive LA Raid | 5/7/26 FIRST LOOK
Aired: 2026-05-07
Duration: 10:04


=== Ted Turner's Media Legacy (06:15) ===

[00:00:04]  Hey everybody, I'm Dave Rubin and this is First Look.
[00:00:06]  It's Thursday, May 7th, 2026.
[00:00:09]  We've got a packed show for you today.
[00:00:12]  CNN founder Ted Turner dies at 87.
[00:00:16]  Barack Obama sparks backlash after taking shots at Trump and joking Stephen Colbert could do a better job as president.
[00:00:24]  Federal agents smash a massive fentanyl operation tied to gangs terrorizing Los Angeles' MacArthur Park.
[00:00:33]  Let's dive in.
[00:00:34]  We start today with the death of one of the most Influential and frankly, most unpredictable media figures in modern American history.
[00:00:42]  Ted Turner has died at the age of 87.
[00:00:45]  Turner, the founder of CNN and one of the pioneers of cable television, reportedly died peacefully surrounded by family after battling Lewy body dementia, a degenerative disease he publicly disclosed back in 2018.
[00:00:59]  And regardless of where people stand politically, there's no denying this.
[00:01:04]  Ted Turner changed media forever.
[00:01:07]  This was a guy who never thought small.
[00:01:09]  In 1980, when most people thought the idea was insane, Turner launched CNN, the world's first 24-hour news network.
[00:01:19]  At the time, critics mocked the concept.
[00:01:21]  Why would anyone need news all day long?
[00:01:24]  Turns out everybody would.
[00:01:26]  CNN fundamentally changed how Americans consume news, how wars were covered, how elections were followed, and how global events were experienced in real time.
[00:01:37]  And Turner didn't stop there.
[00:01:39]  He went on to launch CNN Headline News, CNN International, TNT, Cartoon Network, and Turner Classic Movies.
[00:01:49]  He also transformed sports broadcasting.
[00:01:51]  After buying the Atlanta Braves in 1976, Turner used his TBS Superstation concept to beam Braves games nationwide, helping create one of baseball's first true national fan bases.
[00:02:05]  The Braves struggled badly early on under Turner's ownership, and at one point, he even inserted himself. Into the dugout as manager for a game, a stunt so wild that Major League Baseball eventually banned owner managers entirely.
[00:02:19]  That was Ted Turner, equal parts genius and chaos.
[00:02:24]  One writer described him perfectly this week.
[00:02:26]  He was the kind of guy who walked into every meeting with 19 insane ideas and one stroke of genius.
[00:02:34]  And honestly, that's probably true.
[00:02:36]  Now, politically, Turner was all over the map.
[00:02:38]  He flirted with presidential ambitions, became heavily involved in philanthropy.
[00:02:43]  Founded the United Nations Foundation, and was married for years to actress Jane Fonda.
[00:02:49]  But what's especially interesting is how many people from across the political spectrum are acknowledging his impact today.
[00:02:56]  Rupert Murdoch called him a great American and friend.
[00:03:00]  Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav described him as a visionary who transformed media forever.
[00:03:07]  And President Trump also weighed in with a surprisingly personal tribute.
[00:03:12]  Trump wrote on Truth Social, Ted Turner, one of the greats of all time, just died.
[00:03:18]  But Trump also added something many conservatives will agree with, saying Turner was devastated watching what happened to CNN after he sold it.
[00:03:27]  Trump wrote, It became woke and everything that he is not all about.
[00:03:32]  And that really gets to the complicated legacy here.
[00:03:35]  Because yes, CNN today is a partisan activist outlet.
[00:03:39]  But the original vision behind CNN?
[00:03:41]  That was undeniably revolutionary.
[00:03:44]  Turner built something massive from scratch, and whether you loved him or hated him, he was never boring.
[00:03:51]  He was a larger than life American original.
[00:03:54]  Ted Turner was 87 years old.
[00:03:57]  Now, to Barack Obama, who is once again finding himself accused of massive hypocrisy after taking thinly veiled shots at President Trump during an interview on Stephen Colbert's show.
[00:04:08]  Obama went on the late show this week and started lecturing Americans about presidential power and the Justice Department.
[00:04:15]  At one point, Obama said, The White House shouldn't be able to direct the attorney general to go around prosecuting whoever the president wants prosecuted.
[00:04:25]  He then added, The attorney general is the people's lawyer.
[00:04:29]  Not the president's consigliere.
[00:04:32]  Now, obviously, everybody understood who he was talking about.
[00:04:35]  This was aimed directly at Trump.
[00:04:38]  But the reaction from the White House was immediate.
[00:04:40]  Trump's spokesperson, Davis Engel, blasted Obama as a classless moron suffering from a severe and debilitating case of Trump derangement syndrome.
[00:04:52]  And honestly, the reason this blew up is because conservatives immediately pointed out the glaring hypocrisy.
[00:04:58]  This is the same Obama administration that oversaw the Russia collusion hoax.
[00:05:03]  Weaponized federal agencies against Trump allies, use the FBI and intelligence apparatus to target political opponents.
[00:05:13]  And then there's Eric Holder, because Obama spent part of the interview talking about how independent his attorney general supposedly was.
[00:05:21]  Except Holder himself famously said back in 2013 I'm still the president's wingman.
[00:05:29]  Those were his exact words.
[00:05:31]  Holder also became the first sitting attorney general ever.
[00:05:35]  Held in contempt of Congress over the Fast and Furious scandal.
[00:05:39]  So conservatives are looking at Obama now and basically saying, You don't get to lecture the country about DOJ independence after what your administration did.
[00:05:50]  But then the interview got even more bizarre.
[00:05:53]  Colbert, whose show is ending later this month, joked about people telling him to run for president.
[00:05:59]  And Obama laughed and responded, The bar has changed.
[00:06:03]  Then he added that Colbert could probably perform significantly better than some folks that we've seen.
[00:06:09]  Clearly, another jab at Trump.
[00:06:12]  And honestly, this whole thing perfectly captures the disconnect that still exists inside elite liberal circles.

=== Fentanyl Crackdown in LA (03:45) ===

[00:06:19]  They're sitting in front of cheering studio audiences, congratulating themselves, while acting completely oblivious to why millions of Americans rejected their politics in the first place.
[00:06:31]  Obama also downplayed divisions inside the Democratic Party, dismissing concerns about the growing split between moderates and the socialist wing led by people like AOC and Zorhan Mamdani.
[00:06:44]  But that divide is very real.
[00:06:46]  And when Democrats keep elevating figures like Momdani while simultaneously lecturing working Americans about fairness and democracy, they shouldn't be shocked when voters continue moving away from them.
[00:06:59]  And finally, some actual good news out of Los Angeles.
[00:07:02]  Federal agents have smashed a massive drug operation tied to the fentanyl crisis, destroying parts of the city.
[00:07:09]  In one of the largest DEA operations in California in at least a year, agents carried out coordinated raids targeting gang linked.
[00:07:18]  Fentanyl distributors operating around MacArthur Park.
[00:07:21]  The operation was called Operation Free MacArthur Park, and the details are unbelievable.
[00:07:27]  Federal agents swarmed a South Los Angeles apartment tied to alleged drug distributor Malali Moreno Lopez and her boyfriend Tafur Jackson Laura.
[00:07:38]  When the suspects refused to come out, agents busted through a fortified steel door and stormed the apartment.
[00:07:45]  Inside, investigators say the suspects desperately tried to destroy evidence by flushing fentanyl down the toilet.
[00:07:52]  At the same time, federal agents executed multiple other raids, including at a mansion in Calabasas where authorities recovered nearly 40 pounds of fentanyl.
[00:08:03]  In total, 25 suspects were targeted.
[00:08:06]  19 had already been arrested by midday.
[00:08:09]  Massive quantities of fentanyl were seized.
[00:08:11]  And the gangs involved are some of the most dangerous in the country MS 13, the 18th Street Gang, Crazy Riders, and affiliates connected to the Mexican Mafia.
[00:08:23]  Authorities say these groups effectively controlled the open air drug market around MacArthur Park, an area that has become synonymous with addiction, crime, homelessness, and fentanyl deaths.
[00:08:35]  Federal investigators spent over 45 days building the case using surveillance, drones, and undercover operations.
[00:08:43]  And officials say the goal is simple shut down the pipeline feeding deadly fentanyl into Los Angeles neighborhoods.
[00:08:50]  One DEA official put it bluntly People are really suffering from the effects of these illegal drugs.
[00:08:57]  Now, here's the political angle that's impossible to ignore.
[00:09:00]  Remember, when federal agents previously moved into MacArthur Park to crack down on gangs and illegal activity, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass blasted the operation as outrageous and un American.
[00:09:13]  That's how upside down some of these cities have become.
[00:09:17]  Law enforcement targets violent gangs and fentanyl traffickers, and progressive politicians attack the enforcement instead of the criminals.
[00:09:25]  Meanwhile, ordinary residents are left living in chaos.
[00:09:29]  But this week, federal agents finally hit back hard.
[00:09:33]  And frankly, a lot more Americans probably want to see exactly this kind of crackdown.
[00:09:38]  And that's your first look this Thursday.
[00:09:40]  Quick recap Ted Turner, the larger than life founder of CNN, dies at 87.
[00:09:46]  Barack Obama sparks backlash after attacking Trump while ignoring his own administration's record.
[00:09:53]  And federal agents dismantle a massive fentanyl operation terrorizing Los Angeles neighborhoods.
[00:09:59]  We'll keep following all of it.
[00:10:00]  I'm Dave Rubin.
[00:10:01]  Thanks for starting your day with First Look.
[00:10:03]  See you tomorrow.
[00:10:04]  you