Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and former President Donald Trump have had an often contentious and also mutually profitable relationship. Murdoch’s Fox News has been reliable in embracing MAGA opinions and opinionators, and Murdoch is often seen as a GOP kingmaker. But Murdoch, first and foremost a media business savant, has always been more interested in his audience than in any agenda or politician. When something stops working, he and his media machine will move on.
Murdoch remains an autonomous actor, unbeholden to any political figure, as historically politicians have needed him more than he needs them. Murdoch famously asserted that autonomy on election night in 2020, as Fox News called Arizona for Joe Biden even before some of the left-leaning media outlets called it.
Still it’s notable when a Murdoch-owned publication doesn’t tell the story Trump wants told. After 2020 and, more recently, some considerate treatment of potential Trump rival Ron DeSantis by Fox, Trump has increased his appearances on Newsmax and One America News Network, which are seen as more supportive of the former president’s views.
Trump surging in Republican voter polls, sinking with Americans https://t.co/H08sNuOqTO pic.twitter.com/1TE6uB3n7A
— New York Post (@nypost) April 12, 2023
Today a headline at the Murdoch-owned New York Post reads ‘Trump surging in Republican voter polls, sinking with Americans.’ (Newsmax and One America don’t feature headlines like that.)
“Sinking with Americans” is a damning phrase to describe the leading 2024 GOP candidate, especially in the way the headline seems to separate Trump supporters and Americans. The Post, citing a Reuters/Ipsos poll, reports that Trump’s “favorability among Americans overall remains underwater — even below that of the unpopular President Biden.”
