Fox News and its billionaire owner Rupert Murdoch are facing a difficult time as the Republican presidential primaries get underway because the media mogul is reportedly unhappy with the leading candidates.
Murdoch's disappointment with former President Donald Trump and desire for an alternative GOP candidate have been widely reported in the media. However, a new report from Rolling Stone magazine cites sources at Fox News who say Murdoch is also souring on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Murdoch is a key player in conservative media as his family controls not only Fox News but also The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post and other media properties.
"Fox News is a commercial enterprise, so it will trend whichever way the GOP base trends. For that reason alone, it's always seemed naive to think that Trump and Fox News wouldn't kiss and make up," Thomas Gift, founding director of the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London, U.K., told Newsweek.
Murdoch is chair of Fox Corporation and executive chairman of News Corp, two very well-known and influential media companies. His conservative political views are also a matter of record.
DeSantis had been seen as a strong contender for the 2024 Republican nomination and potential Trump opponent. However, his presidential campaign has run into difficulties in recent weeks, with donors privately concerned about the governor's poll numbers, according to a CNBC report on Wednesday.
One senior source at Fox News, speaking anonymously to Rolling Stone, said that Murdoch's "understandable worry is that we may end up being stuck with Trump anyway."
"And DeSantis is underperforming. Anybody can see that ... [and the Murdochs], they're seeing it, too," the source said.
Newsweek has reached out to Fox News via email for comment.
Trump remains the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination and has repeatedly criticized DeSantis, while also pointing to polls showing him beating the Florida governor in a primary.
That could pose a problem for Murdoch, whose media properties have moved away from supporting Trump and, in some cases, launched scathing attacks on the former president.
Taking Aim at Trump
In November, The New York Post met Trump's formal announcement of his new presidential campaign with mockery. The Post has sometimes been described as Trump's favorite newspaper.
Publishing the headline "Florida Man makes announcement," the newspaper pointed readers to a Page 28 article that read, in part: "With just 720 days to go before the next election, a Florida retiree made the surprise announcement Tuesday night that he was running for president."
The Post has published other articles critical of Trump, while The Wall Street Journal's editorial page also took aim at the former president in November in an article headlined: "Trump is the Republican Party's Biggest Loser."
Documents made public during Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit against Fox News showed that Murdoch had privately criticized Trump following the 2020 election.
"The real danger is what he might do as president," Murdoch said, according to court documents. "Apparently not sleeping and bouncing off walls!"
For his part, Trump hasn't shied away from criticizing Murdoch and the billionaire's support for DeSantis.
Trump said in a November statement that "NewsCorp – which is Fox, the Wall Street Journal and the no longer great New York Post" were "all in for Governor Ron DeSanctimonious, an average REPUBLICAN Governor with great Public Relations."
In March this year, Trump accused Murdoch of "aiding & abetting the DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA" after the billionaire said he did not believe the 2020 election was stolen, as Trump has falsely claimed.
Making Up With Murdoch
That kind of rhetoric is likely to make more difficult for Murdoch and his media properties to pivot back to Trump ahead of 2024, but there appears to be no clear alternative for the media mogul at this stage.
However, that decision is likely to be informed by GOP voters' preferences, according to Gift.
"If Fox News doesn't eventually get behind the prohibitive favorite to win the Republican nomination, and that's certainly Trump, right-wing outlets like Newsmax and OAN [One America News] will be more than happy to gobble up its viewership," Gift said.
He added that Fox News executives "may not be enamored by the former president, but many of its celebrity anchors, from Sean Hannity to Pete Hegseth, have remained loyal Trump backers. That's where the power centers are at Fox News, not in the C-suite."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more
