Gentle readers, we cannot help but express a tear of schadenfreude at the reported falling out of those two Titans of the Right, Rupert Murdoch and Donald J Trump. At least according to prolific author Michael Wolff they have. [1] Among his more lurid claims is that Rupert’s loathing for The Donald is now so visceral, that he “often wishes for his death”. The question is: how seriously should we take all this?
Like any good detective, we look for a motive. Money? Well, back in 2020, various employees of Rupert’s Fox News outfit hurled allegations that the recent election of President Biden had been due to fraudulent use of election machines supplied by the Dominion Corporation. For many on the Right, words are not carefully defined units of meaning to be arranged into logical structures. For them, they are mere sounds, emotional bricks to be hurled at anyone according to the immediate needs of the moment. It was just Fox being Foxy. Unfortunately, Dominion took the former view, and sued. Rupert calculated on a $50 million hit; instead he got $785 million. [2] [3]
And this matters. Murdoch needed that money, because his empire is no longer the all-conquering behemoth it was back in the 1980s. For one thing, the rival Daily Mail Online has seized the zeitgeist as the go-to news site for right wingers across the globe. According to insiders, he is also anxious to buy right wing newsmag The Spectator, as well as holding the line for his various new TV and Radio outlets against hungry rivals like GB News. All of which requires a fair amount of spare change. Which Trump and his pals have just cost him. And don’t expect The Donald to pay any of it back any time soon.
So, yes, Murdoch has a motive. And do not underestimate this intelligent, cunning man, even if he is alleged to be in his sunset years(his mother lived to 103) Watch your back, Donald-and listen to the Wolff.
[1]https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/sep/20/rupert-murdoch-wished-donald-trump-dead-michael-wolff-book
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_Voting_Systems_v._Fox_News_Network
us elections #murdoch #trump #2024 #fox news #dominion
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