Murdoch ‘fears for his legacy’ after supporting Trump with Fox News, says author Michael Wolff
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Rupert Murdoch reportedly “fears for his legacy” after backing Donald Trump through his conservative Fox News network, author Michael Wolff has said.
The Fire and Fury author, who has also written a biography of Mr Muroch, told Der Spiegel in an interview on Monday that Fox News’s backing of the former US president had not only torn the 90-year-old’s family apart, but had also thrown the future of his global business empire into doubt.
Although two of Mr Murdoch’s adult children, James and Elisabeth, are thought to be fiercely critical of Mr Trump, Mr Wolff told the German news website that Mr Murdoch would not benefit from the cable network’s boosterism of Mr Trump.
“Two of his kids are Democrats and can't abide this in any way, shape or form,” said Mr Wolff of Fox News’s backing of the former president. “That tears the family apart”.
Mr Murdoch, as the founder of News Corp and 21st Century Fox, is the owner of Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, among other famous titles in the US, UK and Australia.
Asked whether or not “Murdoch needs to fear for his legacy because of Trump,” Mr Wolff told Der Spiegel: “Yes, because he was a man wholly focused on his legacy, on the family. And that's not there anymore.”
“I think it's very sad for him. But you know, what does he feel? I don't know. He doesn't speak to me anymore.”
Mr Wolff was interviewed ahead of the release of his final installment on Mr Trump, Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency, on 27 July.
It follows Fire and Fury, in which the author and reporter wrote that Mr Murdoch hated Mr Trump but “was forced to essentially suck up” to him following his 2016’s election victory.
“Trump just made his skin crawl. But then, partly because of Fox News, Trump became the president of the United States, and Murdoch was forced to essentially suck up to him,” said Mr Wolff to Der Spiegel. “That was incredibly painful to Murdoch.”
The remarks come amid reports that Mr Murdoch approved Fox News’ decision to call Arizona for Joe Biden on election night in November, as reported by Business Insider, who obtained an excerpt of “Landslide”.
Mr Wolff allegedly writes that the 90-year-old told Lachlan Murdoch, his son and the CEO of Fox Corporation, to approve the Fox News decision desk’s call for Mr Biden, and said of Mr Trump: “ 'F*** him’”.
Mr Murdoch’s decision infuriated the Trump campaign, and handicapped his ability to declare election fraud hours into the night, as Mr Biden emerged slowly as the eventual winner.
In a statement to Insider, Fox said the account "is completely false” and “wildly inaccurate”.
The Independent has approached News Corp for further comment.
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