MAGA Celebrates Rupert Murdoch's Retirement

Supporters of Donald Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement are celebrating the change in leadership at Fox.

Murdoch is stepping down as chairman of the Fox Corp. and News Corp. boards, effective in November. Murdoch's son Lachlan will assume the role of chairman of both companies, according to a Thursday letter to employees written by Murdoch and obtained by Newsweek. Lachlan will continue serving as CEO of Fox Corp., the parent company of Fox News.

The announcement comes amid a lengthy feud between Trump and Fox, which has faced lawsuits over its coverage of the 2020 presidential election. Shortly after Fox announced Murdoch's retirement, several MAGA supporters took to X (formerly Twitter) to celebrate, while others criticized the Murdoch family.

"Womp womp. Now his moronic, left leaning sons will continue to destroy the once great brand," X Strategies CEO and Trump supporter Alex Bruesewitz posted.

"BREAKING NEWS: Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as chairman of Fox and News Corp! The end of Fox News is coming! Donald Trump is already making America Great Again! #MAGA," far-right activist and MAGA supporter Laura Loomer posted.

Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign by email for comment.

Fox News' legal battles over its coverage of the 2020 election began after the network and several hosts said election fraud led to Joe Biden winning the presidency. Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.6 billion lawsuit against the company, arguing that the conservative network damaged its reputation by airing false claims that its equipment switched votes from Trump to Biden. In April, Dominion settled with Fox for $787.5 million, but the lawsuits against the company didn't end there.

Meanwhile, Fox has landed on Trump's bad side. The former president has criticized the network for everything from airing unflattering photos of him to unfairly broadcasting positive coverage about presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, which Trump said made MAGA "very angry at Fox News."

The feud between Trump and Fox intensified when the former president alleged that he deserved a payout after enduring "years of Fake News, Hoaxes, Scams, and Investigations" from the network after it settled the Dominion defamation lawsuit.

Throughout his criticism of the network, Trump has fired many shots against Murdoch, such as writing on social media that the media mogul should fire Fox News anchors who did not endorse his baseless allegations about election fraud in his race against Biden. Just last week, Trump said that Murdoch, 92, should take a mental acuity test.

It is unclear how the change in leadership could influence Fox's coverage, especially as presidential campaigns ramp up in advance of the 2024 primaries. Fox News aired the first Republican primary debate in August but without Trump present, and there was a decline in viewers compared with record-setting numbers for a GOP primary debate in 2015.