JUST IN: Trump Humblebrags About Rupert Murdoch’s ‘Retirement’
It took nearly 24 hours, but former President Donald Trump finally addressed the shocking news that Rupert Murdoch was stepping down as Chairman of the Fox Corporation.
Murdoch has faced an ongoing barrage of insults and hectoring from the former president. After news broke of his stepping down, many in the political media world looked for Trump to immediately take a victory lap, which only finally came a day later and in a curiously muted humblebrag form.
Trump cited “many people” giving him credit for forcing Murdich into retirement but claimed that he “did not believe” that to be true. Instead, he took the opportunity to blast another powerful conservative foe, Mitch McConnell, who he blames for giving “Radical Left Lunatics, together with his small band of automatic “yes” votes, EVERYTHING they want.”
Trump wrote on Truth Social:
Many people are saying that,”You forced Rupert Murdoch into retirement!” I do not believe this is so, but while we’re at it, how about getting rid of “Democrat” Mitch McConnell, who gives the Radical Left Lunatics, together with his small band of automatic “yes” votes, EVERYTHING they want. There is ZERO Republican Leadership in the United States Senate. MAGA!!!
The political media world was back on its heels following Thursday’s surprising announcement that Murdoch would be taking on the new role of Chairman Emeritus and ceding his “throne” to son Lachlan Murdoch. The past year has been tumultuous for Fox News, given a $787 defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, the firing of top-rated host Tucker Carlson, and the flagging ratings that followed.
However, one of the more challenging issues is how Fox News could cover the GOP leader, former President Trump, who continues to spout false allegations of a “stolen election,” which any reputable news outlet would consistently report as baseless and damaging to US democracy. Given that Trump holds powerful sway over so many potential Fox News viewers, the network has been somewhat muted in criticizing the former president for fear of losing viewers, a concern that became self-evident in internal memos and emails that emerged in the discovery phase of Dominion’s suit.
Rupert Murdoch no longer having the politically powerful sway to broker the next president, which seems chief among the reasons why he is stepping down. That, and of course, his being 92 years old.
