Trump Snubs Rupert Murdoch with VP Pick After Media Mogul Reportedly Waged an ‘Anyone But J.D.’ Campaign
Former President Donald Trump officially chose Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) on Monday to be his running mate on the GOP’s 2024 presidential ticket, a choice former Fox News Chairman Rupert Murdoch campaigned hard against.
Murdoch reportedly waged a fierce campaign for North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (R) to be Trump’s VP pick, calling the former president multiple times a day and even sending New York Post staffers to Mar-a-Lago to lobby in person.
NOTUS’s Reese Gorman reported over the weekend that “Murdoch has been pushing for Burgum — and against Vance — for quite some time now, both over the phone and by dispatching surrogates to Trump in person.”
A source close to Trump told Gorman that Murdoch’s pro-Burgum campaign shifted to an “anyone but J.D.” campaign as the media mogul remained open to other alternatives as well, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). Gorman reported that the source said Murdoch wanted there to be “a check on Trump” and “that Murdoch had sent News Corp executives to meet with the former president to personally make the pitch for Burgum and against Vance.”
Murdoch appeared to initially support Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) in the primaries, which according to Gorman’s sources, was a major sticking point for Trump as far as continuing to heed the Fox founder’s counsel.
Murdoch’s major U.S. publications publicly hammered Vance while he was privately lobbying against the Ohio senator.
“Murdoch’s private entreaties have also mirrored the public campaign underway in two of his newspapers: The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. In recent weeks, these sources pointed out, the two papers have run at least five editorials speaking negatively of Vance and advocating for Burgum,” reported Gorman regarding the public-facing side of Murdoch’s campaign.
Trump, who has regularly attacked Fox News in recent years for allegedly not being loyal enough to him, certainly sent a message to Murdoch and the rest of the Republican establishment by choosing Vance as his VP.
