
Commentator Dick Polman says Donald Trump’s behavior during and after the January 6, 2021 insurrection may have finally helped convince Fox News boss Rupert Murdoch to end his support for the former president. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The grinding sound you’re hearing is the Rupert Murdoch propaganda machine chewing up Donald Trump and spitting him out.
That’s the good news. We’ll get to the bad news shortly.
What a miraculous coincidence it was last Friday when Murdoch’s New York Post editorial page and Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal editorial page eviscerated Trump for abetting deadly violence on Jan. 6. The right-wing outlets didn’t denounce Trump’s behavior as criminal in nature – that would’ve been too much to expect – but they signaled nonetheless that they’re done with the demagogue once and for all.
Granted, Murdoch’s outlets have sent up signal flares before. Six weeks ago, his Post penned an editorial lamenting Trump’s fixation on the 2020 election and urging Republican voters to consider alternative candidates “who embrace conservative policies without the preoccupations of the Don.” And lest we forget, Murdoch in the past has reportedly referred to Trump as a “f—ng idiot.”
Nevertheless, the latest salvos are startling. From the Wall Street Journal:
“Mr. Trump took an oath to defend the Constitution, and he had a duty as Commander in Chief to protect the Capitol from a mob attacking it in his name. He refused. He didn’t call the military to send help. He didn’t call Mr. Pence to check on the safety of his loyal VP. Instead he fed the mob’s anger and let the riot play out.”
The New York Post editorial was even more withering:
“Trump didn’t lift a finger… He was the only person who could stop what was happening. He was the only one the crowd was listening to. It was incitement by silence… His only focus was to find any means – damn the consequences – to block the peaceful transfer of power.”
Meanwhile, Murdoch’s Fox News appears to be filing for divorce.
This week, Trump’s usually reliable doormats on “Fox & Friends” posted new poll numbers showing Trump’s grip on the GOP loosening in the early matchups for 2024 – prompting Trump to whine on his social media account. And last week, the Fox News website posted a montage of Trump voters who are pining for a less “polarizing” hero. And last Friday, when Trump was in Arizona staging his latest hate/self-pity rally, Fox News counter-programmed by airing an interview with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Ah, here’s where we spotlight the bad news. Read more