Trump Showers ‘Legendary Rupert Murdoch’ With Praise in Oval Office Gaggle: ‘In a Class by Himself’

President Donald Trump took questions from the press while signing more executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday. At one point, he was asked about Elon Musk’s influence in his administration, and, in his answer, pivoted to mention other “talented people” he’s been meeting with recently, including News Corp founder Rupert Murdoch who happened to be in the Oval Office with them at that exact moment.

“We’re bringing in the most talented people in the world. By the way, we just– unrelated, but we have two of the most talented people in the world, the legendary Rupert Murdoch and Larry Ellison,” Trump said, going off on a bit of a tangent:

So they are two legends in business, publishing and probably every other Rupert is Larry pretty much in a class by himself, right? I mean, although you may have a couple of bucks more, I don’t know. But Rupert is in a class by himself.

He’s an amazing guy. And Larry is Larry’s Larry. Larry’s one of the most serious players anywhere in the world. So it’s an honor to have you. This has nothing to do with you people. But they here and I thought it would be appropriate. I’m sure you didn’t recognize them. You’re all going crazy, they say, what are they doing here? Great question.

Trump has attacked some of Murdoch’s media outlets in recent years, claiming they were not being loyal enough to him — including Fox News. Trump hit back at Wall Street Journal editorial on Trump’s tariffs over the weekend, writing, “, “The ‘Tariff Lobby,’ headed by the Globalist, and always wrong, Wall Street Journal, is working hard to justify Countries like Canada, Mexico, China, and too many others to name, continue the decades long RIPOFF OF AMERICA.”

Murdoch was also revealed to have blasted Trump for his actions following the 2020 presidential election, arguing that his debunked voter fraud claims resulted in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. “Trump insisting on the election being stolen and convincing 25% of Americans was a huge disservice to the country. Pretty much a crime. Inevitable it blew up Jan 6th,” Murdoch wrote in an email to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott on Jan. 20, 2021. The email was made public during the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit against Fox News.