Rupert Murdoch Has Picked a Favorite to Supplant Trump, Per NY Times Report
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Rupert Murdoch has a clear favorite on who he wants to enter the 2024 Republican primary as his media empire takes an increasingly dim view of both Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, who won the election in 2021 on education reform and what some called a “fear of a woke planet” agenda, has emerged as someone the media mogul is eager to see enter the race.
The New York Times reported on Fox News’ coverage of DeSantis, examining how it hasn’t been as friendly to the Florida governor as it once was. This trend has been visible from other news outlets under News Corp’s ownership, which suggests that Murdoch’s media empire “might now be reassessing him as the early shine comes off his campaign.”
From the Times:
Whether Mr. Murdoch wants to see Mr. DeSantis as the nominee is unclear. Some of Mr. DeSantis’s moves — like his ongoing punitive battle with Disney — are unlikely to have pleased the business-minded Mr. Murdoch, who nearly a decade ago called for federal officials to make immigration reform a priority.
The media mogul likes to watch political races play out, even live-tweeting reactions to one of the Republican presidential debates during the 2016 election. Mr. Murdoch has privately told people that he would still like to see Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia enter the race, according to a person with knowledge of the remarks. And he has made clear in private discussions over the last two years that he thinks Mr. Trump, despite his popularity with Fox News viewers, is unhealthy for the Republican Party.
The report corroborates Rolling Stone’s article describing Murdoch’s concerns about the Florida governor’s underwhelming performance in the presidential race. With DeSantis’ inability to close the polling gap between him and Trump, Murdoch has been reportedly displeased with the governor’s strategy, and a Fox source said Murdoch’s worried that “we may end up being stuck with Trump.” This comes as the relationship between Trump and the Murdoch media empire has grown tense recently.
The Times report delved into a contrast between Trump’s glowing hostilities with Fox News, and the coverage DeSantis received from the network before his campaign reached its current plateau. Trump has repeatedly attacked Fox News in recent months by accusing the network of propping up DeSantis, and the two might not face off on the network if Trump follows through on his threat to skip the first Republican primary debate that Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will host in August.
