Dhe influential media empire of billionaire Rupert Murdoch is keeping a clear distance from ex-President Donald Trump after the midterm elections in the United States. In its editorial on Thursday, the conservative Wall Street Journal described the right-wing populist as the “biggest loser of the Republican Party”. Trump “flopped” in elections in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022. In Tuesday’s midterms, Trump-backed Republican candidates lost in states that “clearly” could have been won.
The tabloid New York Post put Trump on a wall in a cartoon on its front page and described him as a “Trumpty Dumpty” who had suffered a “deep fall” – a reference to a well-known children’s song in which a character named Humpty Dumpty falls off a brick wall. The newspaper quoted an expert as saying that two words could explain why the Republicans had achieved a disappointing result in the midterms: “Donald Trump”.
Fox News praises Trump competitors
Fox News, which is part of the Murdoch empire and Trump’s favorite station for a long time, also found harsh words for the 76-year-old and at the same time praised Trump’s inner-party rival Ron DeSantis, who was re-elected by a large margin in the gubernatorial election in Florida. “The biggest winner of the Midterms was without a doubt Gov. DeSantis, whose landslide win at Florida state was breathtaking,” wrote Fox News columnist Liz Peek. “The biggest loser? Donald Trump.”
The Murdoch media is extremely influential in the US and has long reported very favorably on Trump. During his time in the White House, for example, Trump regularly gave long interviews to Fox News in which he hardly had to fear critical questions. In the conservative camp, however, many are turning away from Trump after the mid-term elections and relying on DeSantis.
No landslide victory
Republican hopes for a clear victory in the Midterms were dashed on Tuesday. The Conservatives are likely to win a majority in the House of Representatives, but this is likely to be narrower than expected. In the Senate, President Joe Biden’s Democrats could defend their wafer-thin majority. In both chambers of Congress, the races are so close that the major US broadcasters have still not declared an overall winner.
The outcome of the election is remarkable because US voters often use the midterms to teach the president’s party a lesson. Biden also has poor poll numbers, partly because of high inflation in the country.
Many Republicans accuse Trump of damaging the party with his intervention in the election campaign and the selection of controversial candidates.
This weakens the 76-year-old just at a time when he apparently wants to announce a renewed candidacy for the presidency. Trump has long toyed with running for the 2024 presidential election and has promised a “very big announcement” on Tuesday.