Fox News' coming war on Donald Trump: The Murdoch/Trump Twitter feud which could catch fire

A Rupert Murdoch tweet and WSJ editorial suggests the Murdoch empire may be about to adjust its tone on Trump

Published July 20, 2015 6:34PM (EDT)

  (Reuters/Mike Segar/Joshua Roberts/Photo montage by Salon)
(Reuters/Mike Segar/Joshua Roberts/Photo montage by Salon)

Rupert Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal have soured on Donald Trump. Now what will Fox News do?

On Saturday, after Trump crossed a line in the eyes of many Republicans with his comments on John McCain's war record, Rupert Murdoch tweeted that:

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That was followed this morning by a scathing Wall Street Journal editorial which argued that:

It came slightly ahead of schedule, but Donald Trump’s inevitable self-immolation arrived on the weekend when he assailed John McCain’s war record. The question now is how long his political and media apologists on the right will keep pretending he’s a serious candidate.

The piece also called out conservative magazine editors -- Bill Kristol, we'd assume -- for enabling Trump and his rise to the top of the GOP polls. (It did not mention a certain conservative cable news network which has also helped enable Trump.)

Coming from a reality TV star, this too-much-time-on-television line is hilarious. Mr. McCain doesn’t need our defense on Mr. Trump’s other insults, but they are notable because anyone with a cursory knowledge of politics knows they’re false. They show that Mr. Trump has barely a passing acquaintance with America’s current policy debates.

The summer Trump polling spurt has nonetheless been instructive in exposing a growing problem on the political right. All too many conservatives, including some magazine editors, have been willing to overlook his hucksterism as he’s risen in the polls. They pretend that he deserves respect because he’s giving voice to some deep disquiet or anger in the American electorate.

Trump just ignored the criticism from Murdoch. Oh, wait, sorry. No he didn't. He fired back on Twitter by hitting Murdoch where it counts -- the decline in value of the WSJ since Murdoch bought it.

[embedtweet id="623136587241664512"]

Might the Fox News/Trump war be next? Or is Trump still too valuable a "Fox and Friends" guest?

 

 

 

 

 


By Salon Staff

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Donald Trump Elections 2016 Fox News Rupert Murdoch Twitter Wall Street Journal