This story jumped off my laptop screen this morning:
I rather doubt that when the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal publishes an editorial highly critical of President Donald Trump that they don't get approval from Rupert Murdoch. Such an editorial is a message directly from the owner of Trump’s favorite cable news station and home to several of his unofficial closest advisors.
Trump has attacked some Fox News reporters and commentators recently (“Is trump’s Love Affair with Fox News Fading?”) and has expressed doubts about the accuracy of their polling.
Considering his driven need for self-affirmation he may be watching One America News Network (OANN) although if he is this is quite a step-down from lavishing in the adoration coming from what he knows in the number one cable news network.
Of those members of the MAGA cult who watch television news with any frequency, and my hunch is that this isn’t a large percentage, I am certain that almost all of them exclusively watch Fox News. Since his election I have wondered what would happen if Rupert Murdoch decided make sure the Fox news coverage of Trump was accurate, and he added more high profile anti-Trump conservatives like Jennifer Rubin to his opinion segments and shows. Currently Fox has Juan Williams and Donna Brazille and Trump is not at all pleased with this: see Fox News Democrats Fire Back at Trump's "Tiresome" Criticism of Network.
There is also a battle between overwhelmingly pro-Trump personalities —Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Ingraham—and the "straight news" hosts—Bret Baier, Shep Smith, and Chris Wallace. See: DONALD TRUMP'S FOX NEWS INFLUENCE SPARKS NETWORK CIVIL WAR AS LAURA INGRAHAM, CHRIS WALLACE TRADE INSULTS
It remains to be seen whether today’s Wall Street Journal article will rile up the unstable autocrat, the self proclaimed emperor of economics. But consider some of what Rupert Murdoch’s true experts of economics at the Wall Street Journal had to say:
- “The trouble with trade wars, like shooting wars, is that once they start you never know how they’re going to end. The enemy gets a vote, and sometimes events escalate in ugly fashion. Take Friday, which saw China retaliate for Donald Trump’s ’recent tariffs, Mr. Trump blow a gasket, markets tank, and Mr. Trump impose even more tariffs.”
- Trump “began tweeting like a bull in a china shop,” and scoffed at his ”order” that American companies no longer have anything to do with the world’s second-largest economy.
- “Order? Somebody should tell Chairman Trump this isn’t the People’s Republic of America, but supply chains that have been developed over decades can’t be uprooted overnight. And no other country has China’s huge relatively skilled workforce, infrastructure and network of suppliers.”
- The editorial mocked Trump’s “trade-war general” Peter Navarro, and his laughable advice to the stock market that “we’re cool here.” The editors scoffed: “Got that, markets? Just chill, baby.”
- …. “markets are wondering if we’re heading toward mutual assured economic destruction.”
- “What was that again about trade wars being easy to win?”
Check out the entire editorial — headlined “Just Another Manic Friday” — here.
Whether this important editorial gets to Trump or not, and we may find out in a tweet, what is most important is whether Rupert Murdoch sees the handwriting on the wall and realizes Trump is likely to loose the election and that beyond the election his cash cow, Fox News, has to go on and without Trump their coverage may have to change drastically to maintain their dominance of cable news.
What do you think the chances are that Murdoch will order a major change in the way Fox News covers Trump and politics in general? Take the poll and please comment.
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Yesterday: Using the word psychotic to describe Trump's aberrant behavior