Fox News is making it clear that they’re finished with disgraced, one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump, even going so far as to call him a “three-time loser” on his failing Truth Social site.
That’s just the latest escalation from Fox, with The Guardian reporting that Rupert Murdoch has let Trump know he will not support his 2024 presidential campaign, which the ex-president recently announced.
After the Republican party’s disappointing performance in the US midterm elections, in particular the poor showing by candidates backed by Trump, Murdoch’s rightwing media empire appears to be seeking a clean break from the former president’s damaged reputation and perceived waning political power.
Last week, Murdoch’s influential media empire, including right-leaning Fox News, his flagship paper the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post, each rounded on Trump, calling him a loser and a flop responsible for dragging the Republicans into “one political fiasco after another.”
“We have been clear with Donald. There have been conversations between them during which Rupert made it clear to Donald that we cannot back another run for the White House,” a senior News Corp source told thenewspaper.
Instead, Fox and News Corp are going all-in on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is seen as having a much better chance of winning if and when he decides to run for president.
Lachlan Murdoch, the heir apparent and eldest son, who co-chairs News Corp and runs the parent company of Fox News, has reportedly told DeSantis that the group would back him if he ran in the next election. “Lachlan has been keen on Ron for some time,” said the source. “He’s viewed within the organisation as a sanitised version of Donald.”
DeSantis, who has been called “DeFuture” by the New York Post and “the new Republican party leader” in a Fox News column, has not declared whether he intends to compete to be the party’s 2024 presidential candidate.
It’ll be interesting to see how Trump responds to being tossed overboard by Murdoch and Fox.
