Media industry watcher: How Rupert Murdoch turned against Donald Trump

During a week of furious outbursts in the White House residence, Donald Trump was apoplectic when Fox News, his favourite television channel, announced that Arizona would be won by his rival Joe Biden. The angry and bewildered President demanded answers.

Instead, what he had feared for months became apparent: he could no longer rely on the support of Rupert Murdoch’s US media. Increasingly isolated, his grip on power was slipping.

Earlier this week Mr Murdoch spoke to Mr Trump and told him that he had lost, and that Mr Biden was going to emerge as the clear winner, i has learned. Mr Trump did not accept that.

Privately, Mr Murdoch – formerly a friend and supporter of the President – is dismayed by Mr Trump’s inappropriate conduct since the polls closed.

The 89-year-old’s backing for the President has been scaled back substantially in recent months as concerns grew about Mr Trump’s erratic performance and handling of Covid-19.

‘Conspiracy theories’

Earlier this week Mr Murdoch spoke to Mr Trump and told him that he had lost

On Wednesday this week, the day after the vote, Mr Murdoch was enjoying a relaxing lunch with close friends just outside New York. After the meal he put a call into the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, i understands, urging him to ask other senior Republicans to refuse to endorse Mr Trump’s conspiracy theories and baseless claims of fraud.

Mr McConnell, who has remained loyal throughout every previous Trumpian firestorm, had already come to the same conclusion. On Thursday morning he went against his President, insisting that the democratic process must continue: “Claiming you’ve won the election is different from finishing the counting.”

Another Murdoch executive spoke with former New Jersey governor Chris Christie on Wednesday. The content of that conversation is unknown, but Mr Christie went on ABC News to dismiss Mr Trump’s claims of victory and dismissal of postal ballots: “There’s just no basis to make that argument tonight. There just isn’t. All these votes have to be counted that are in now.”

Trump confidant Mr Christie spent seven days in intensive care after catching Covid-19, potentially from the President while he helped him to prepare for the first debate with Mr Biden.

Other senior Republicans began to publicly question Mr Trump’s behaviour in the aftermath of the vote. Such phone calls from Mr Murdoch and his team may help to explain why the President has struggled to find many prominent Republicans to publicly endorse his wild claims – alongside the lack of any evidence of fraud, of course.

Ivanka’s ambitions

Prior to Mr Trump’s latest televised eruption, there had been vague speculation about the supposed political ambitions of his daughter, Ivanka Trump. The prospect of her ever receiving the support of Mr Murdoch and his right-wing US media assets appears slim, at this moment in time. Mr Murdoch believes Ivanka to be charming but the Trump name to be sullied beyond repair for any run at office in the foreseeable future.

Sources close to Mr Murdoch suggest that he came to the view that Donald Trump’s time in office might be approaching an end about six months ago. Subsequently, Fox News’ stance towards Joe Biden began to soften slightly, with a source close to the owner suggesting that this decision came from the top.

Murdoch believed that Trump’s time might be up, and while the channel would allow the likes of right-wing commentators Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity to let rip, he ordered more impartial coverage of the election in the news network’s general news programming. For example, live coverage of Mr Biden’s Covid-safe campaign rallies was increased, given as much time as Mr Trump’s events.

Republican support

Fox News remains a staunch supporter of the Republican Party, but its support for the President has not been as vociferous as it was during the 2016 campaign. The less partisan news coverage confused Mr Trump, who in recent months repeatedly sought assurances from Mr Murdoch that he continued to receive his support.

The reality became stark on election night. Since this marathon election count began on Tuesday, Mr Murdoch has been watching carefully.

After Fox News called swing state Arizona for Joe Biden, Mr Murdoch and Fox News executives were lobbied by the Trump campaign team and by Mr Trump himself. (The trusted Associated Press quickly followed Fox in calling Arizona, although the race there remains close, with some other media insisting it was still too close to call.)

Mr Trump was incensed. His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, called Mr Murdoch about the Fox News decision. The media owner refused to budge – confirmation to team Trump that the President had lost an ally.

Mr Trump’s favourite newspaper, the New York Post, also owned by Mr Murdoch, dismissed the President’s latest unsubstantiated allegations with the headline: “Downcast Trump makes baseless election fraud claims.”

None of this means that Mr Murdoch supports Joe Biden. He had instead dropped his support for Donald Trump. The Australian-born media proprietor cannot stomach backing a loser.

He knows when to switch horses: he needs his news organisations to have access to whoever holds power. A gentle but obvious shift in Fox News coverage during the campaign will not have gone unnoticed in Biden circles any less than it has frustrated Trump.

Trump’s self-destructive reaction

After Fox News dialled up the straight reporting (alongside commentators ranting), Mr Trump floated the idea of launching his own news network in direct competition. Investors in the network’s parent company Fox Corporation got the jitters about that, but Murdoch has told advisers that he is not overly concerned. He has substantially more experience than Trump in running networks, more money and new launches are notoriously difficult.

Mr Murdoch has not gone soft. Fox News will continue to support rational Republicans. If the party produces a strong challenger in 2024, Fox News will support them. Hannity and Carlson will not disappear from viewers’ screens. But they may be joined by less fervent political commentators.

It is impossible to measure what influence Mr Murdoch has really had on this presidential race. Perhaps his biggest impact was sparking Mr Trump’s self-destructive reaction to the waning support of a former friend.