The Daily Donald: Rupert Murdoch unloads as Trump's xenophobic campaign gains steam

The conservative media mogul is none too pleased about The Donald's rise

By Sophia Tesfaye

Senior Politics Editor

Published July 13, 2015 12:56PM (EDT)

Donald Trump                      (Reuters/Brendan Mcdermid)
Donald Trump (Reuters/Brendan Mcdermid)

We're approaching the one month mark since Donald Trump announced his presidential campaign, and his rabble-rousing rages on. Here are the latest developments as The Donald hit the campaign trail over the weekend:

Trump dazzles 5,000 in Phoenix

Trump went to a pair of Western campaign stops in Las Vegas and Phoenix on Saturday to drive home his anti-immigration message to very friendly and large crowds. In Phoenix nearly 5,000 showed up to hear from Trump. The Washington Post reports “the crowd in Phoenix began lining up outside the convention center before dawn, with many spending hours in temperatures that exceeded 100 degrees. Hundreds of people, who stood in lines snaking down several downtown blocks, did not make it into the ballroom for his speech.”

Trump showed no signs of pulling back on his anti-immigrant rhetoric, specifically targeting Mexico at the border state event. “These are people that shouldn’t be in our country. They flow in like water,” he said of undocumented immigrants. “I wonder if the Mexican government sent them over here.” Trump shared his plan for controlling the border, “I’m ready to go right at the Mexican government. I’m going to charge them $100,000 per illegal immigrant and, oh, I’ll make them pay.”

Trump compared his confidence on the campaign trail to dating. "Like when I went on dates, If a woman dropped me, which happened often, I would always like to say in my own mind that I dropped her," he explained to the crowd. And he was very confident about his ability to fight international terrorist groups like ISIS, “They will be in such trouble . . . ISIS, believe me, I would take them out so fast. You have to do it.”

And Trump took a hit at his favorite Republican punching bag, Jeb Bush. “Jeb Bush, let’s say he’s president — Oy, yoy, yoy,” he warned the crowd. “How can I be tied with this guy? He’s terrible. Terrible. He’s weak on immigration.”

As he walked off the stage to Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” Trump declared, "The silent majority is back, and we're going to take the country back!"

Rupert Murdoch: “Trump wrong” on Mexican immigrants

Conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch is not a fan of Donald Trump’s anti-immigration bluster. On Sunday, Murdoch tweeted "Mexican immigrants, as with all immigrants, have much lower crime rate than native born," noting that El Paso is one of the safest cities, Murdoch added "Trump wrong."

[embedtweet id=620352927807377408]

In a follow-up tweet, Murdoch challenged Trump further:

[embedtweet id=620360889380638720]

But other GOP leadership running clear of Trump

On "Fox News Sunday," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky turned down a chance to criticize Trump, saying, "Look, I'm not going to take the bait." House Speaker John Boehner passed on the chance as well, saying, "I don't know whether he's helping or hurting, but uh-- he's a candidate."

Bold leadership.

Trump a no show at his Miss USA pageant

One of the first casualties of Trump’s candidacy was his Miss USA pageant. Almost immediately after his presidential kick-off, Univision announced it would not air Trump’s yearly pageant. The show found a last-minute home on Reelz, a small cable channel available in about 67 million homes, after a some judges, scheduled performers and even a host backed out of the event following Trump’s comments on Mexican immigrants. But Trump never showed up to the boycotted event Sunday evening, citing his campaign events on Saturday.

Trump drives Letterman out of retirement

David Letterman crashed Steve Martin and Martin Short’s show in San Antonino Friday night and told the audience that retiring from Late Night before Donald Trump entered the presidential race was "the biggest mistake of my life."

Letterman then presented the top 10 “Interesting Things About Donald Trump”:

10 - His toupee is actually the gopher in "Caddyshack."

9 -  During sex, Donald Trump calls out his own name

8 - Trump looks like the guy in the lifeboat with the women and children.

7 - He wants to build a wall, how about building a wall around that thing on his head

6 -  Trump walked away from a moderately successful television show for some delusional bs, oh wait that’s me!

5 - Donald Trump weighs 240 pounds. 250 with cologne

4 - Trump would like all Americans to know that that thing on his head is free range

3 - That’s not a hairstyle, that’s a wind advisory

2 - Donald Trump has pissed off so many Mexicans he’s starring in a movie called ‘No Amigos’

1 - Thanks to Donald Trump, the Republican mascot is also an ass”


By Sophia Tesfaye

Sophia Tesfaye is Salon's senior editor for news and politics, and resides in Washington, D.C. You can find her on Twitter at @SophiaTesfaye.

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