logo
What to know about the Trump-Murdoch relationship

What to know about the Trump-Murdoch relationship

Axios18-07-2025
President Trump and Rupert Murdoch's on-again, off-again relationship hit a new wall Thursday after the Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal reported that a racy birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein bore Trump's name — despite Trump urging Murdoch to kill the story.
The big picture: The WSJ story appeared at a time when Trump is facing mounting pressure to release additional documents on the Epstein case as the president and Murdoch fight over the conservative media narrative.
Driving the news: The WSJ story details a "bawdy" birthday letter to Epstein in 2003 that it claims bore Trump's name.
According to documents the WSJ reported reviewing, the letter was said to be one of many that close Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell compiled in a leather-bound album for Epstein's 50th birthday.
The Justice Department didn't respond to requests for comment about whether the pages of the birthday album were part of the agency's recent document review, per the WSJ.
Maxwell was found guilty of helping Epstein sexually abuse several teenage girls in 2021.
What they're saying: Trump slammed the WSJ story after it got published, saying he told Murdoch not to run the story.
"I told Rupert Murdoch it was a Scam, that he shouldn't print this Fake Story," Trump posted on Truth Social Thursday night. "But he did, and now I'm going to sue his ass off, and that of his third rate newspaper."
Trump posted that he was hoping to make Murdoch testify in the lawsuit, saying it would be "an interesting experience!!!"
State of play: Trump and the media mogul have had a cozy relationship for years, but occasionally relations have grown tense when Trump's stances have clashed with Murdoch's views as well as the news outlet's reporting.
Here's a timeline of what we know about the relationship between the two men:
During Trump's 2016 presidential run
Murdoch criticized Trump in a post on X shortly after Trump mocked Sen. John McCain for being captured during the Vietnam War.
"When is Donald Trump going to stop embarrassing his friends, let alone the whole country," Murdoch wrote.
Murdoch initially supported other Republican candidates for president in the 2016 campaign, but ultimately said the "party would be mad not to unify" behind Trump if he became the nominee.
Flashback: The media mogul purportedly called Trump a "f*cking idiot" after a conversation the two had during the transition from the Obama to Trump White House in 2016, according to Michael Wolff's 2018 book, "Fire and Fury."
During Trump's first term as president
Murdoch was one of Trump's key advisers to Trump outside of the White House, according to the New York Times.
The Times also reported the president spoke to Murdoch "almost every day,"
Post-2020 election
Trump and Murdoch's relationship hit another low after the president encouraged his supporters to protest the 2020 election, and the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol ensued.
Murdoch privately criticized Trump's actions in documents released by a judge in a lawsuit over the false claims that Dominion Voting Systems rigged the election against the president.
"Trump insisting on the election being stolen and convincing 25% of Americans was a huge disservice to the country. Pretty much a crime. Inevitable it blew up Jan 6th," Murdoch wrote.
The relationship continued to sour after Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems almost $800 million to settle a case that could have forced Murdoch to testify publicly about the outlet's coverage of Trump's election denial.
During the 2024 presidential campaign
In August of 2023, Trump accused Murdoch of trying to sabotage his second campaign for president.
"Fox News and the Wall Street Journal fight me because Murdoch is a globalist," Trump said in a video posted to Truth Social. "And I am America First. It's very simple, and it will always be that way, so get used to it."
Trump claimed that the Murdoch outlets wanted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to win the Republican primary, and taunted his rival, calling him a "a Murdoch pick" who has "fallen like a very badly injured bird out of the sky."
During Trump's second administration
Trump hosted Murdoch in the Oval Office in February, when the president called him "legendary" in business and publishing.
"Rupert Murdoch is in a class by himself — he's an amazing guy," Trump told the press.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

This isn't the first time Trump's been parodied on 'South Park'
This isn't the first time Trump's been parodied on 'South Park'

Indianapolis Star

time17 minutes ago

  • Indianapolis Star

This isn't the first time Trump's been parodied on 'South Park'

Whether you're a long-time "South Park" fan or just have heard of the show in passing, you've probably heard about that episode by now. The Season 27 premiere of "South Park" started off with a fiery take on President Donald Trump's widespread attacks on media. The episode, which aired on Wednesday, July 23, shows a character with Trump's face on a cartoon body crawling into bed, naked, with Satan. The episode referenced Paramount's $16 million settlement with the president, Trump's claims that he'll receive $20 million worth of ads on the network and the cancellation of CBS' "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." In response to the episode, the White House told USA TODAY on Thursday, July 24, that the scene was a "desperate attempt for attention," calling the series a "fourth-rate" show. During a panel about the show at San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday evening, July 24, "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone sarcastically said they were "terribly sorry" for the episode. Though Trump himself is not often depicted directly in the series, like the recent episode, Parker and Stone have used the popular character Mr. Garrison to represent the president through several seasons. In the series' 20th season, Mr. Garrison, who previously was an elementary school teacher, wins the 2016 U.S. presidential election against Hillary Clinton. Becoming President Garrison, the character continues to serve as a parody for Trump until 2020. President Garrison takes on Trump's swooped, blonde hair, sends out fiery social media posts and is obsessed with hosting Make America Great Again rallies. Here's a look at some of the key moments the president has been featured, or parodied, in "South Park." White House, 'South Park' trade barbs: What to know about the feud "Where My Country Gone" highlights the U.S.-Mexico border wall that Trump wished to build long before he took office in 2017. The episode aired in September 2015, ahead of the 2016 presidential election. In the episode, Mr. Garrison (not yet President Garrison) begins to promote the idea of building a wall along the U.S.-Canada border to eliminate the number of illegal Canadian immigrants entering the country. Can 'South Park' take on Trump 2.0? They're walking a tightrope In "Oh, Jeez," Mr. Garrison is elected as president in the 2016 election. The character, renamed to President Garrison, continues to serve as a parody of Trump in the series until Season 24, when Trump lost the 2020 election. The episode aired on Nov. 9, 2016, the day after the election. In the next episode, "Members Only," President Garrison begins his duties. He gets a Trump-style toupee, tours the Pentagon, is given a book of "military secrets" and gets in a heated phone call with Boris Johnson, the former prime minister of the United Kingdom. "Put It Down" highlights the United States' relationship with North Korea and references Trump's presence on social media. In the episode, which aired in September 2017, President Garrison posts aggressive tweets about North Korea, specifically about a nuclear missile fired by the country, which causes car accidents by drivers who are distracted by the posts. "Doubling Down," references the decreasing popularity of Trump during his first presidential administration. The episode aired in November 2017. During the episode, President Garrison insults a world leader on the telephone in the White House while his advisers discuss low approval ratings. "Splatty Tomato," again, parodies Trump's approval ratings following the 2016 election. The episode aired in December 2017. Throughout the episode, President Garrison pops up, scaring characters and asking them about his approval ratings. The characters compare Garrison sneak attacks to characters in "Stranger Things" and "IT." At one point, the character Tweek is riding his bicycle around town when he sees a collection of balloons that read, "Make America Great Again." The balloons then pop, revealing President Garrison, who asks Tweek about his ratings. "The Pandemic Special" was the premiere of Season 24. Airing in September 2020, the episodes satirize the United States' handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest amid the Black Lives Matter movement. President Garrison makes minor appearances in the episodes, notably using a flamethrower to encourage citizens to vote in the 2020 presidential election. "Spring Break" parodies the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021. In the episode, Mr. Garrison, who freshly lost the 2020 presidential election, goes on a trip with his boyfriend to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The episode aired in March 2023. During the trip, Mr. Garrison starts to slink away to Make America Great Again rallies, despite his boyfriend's pleas not to. The episode ends with Mr. Garrison leading a chant that results in his supporters rushing the U.S. Capitol. Old and new episodes of "South Park" are now available for streaming on Paramount+ with a paid subscription. A Paramount+ Essential subscription is $7.99 a month with ads, and a Paramount+ Premium subscription is $12.99 a month without ads. Contributing: Brian Truitt and Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY

Trump's golf trip to Scotland reopens old wounds for some of his neighbors
Trump's golf trip to Scotland reopens old wounds for some of his neighbors

USA Today

time33 minutes ago

  • USA Today

Trump's golf trip to Scotland reopens old wounds for some of his neighbors

BALMEDIE, Scotland − Long before he was the 45th and the 47th president, on a wild and windswept stretch of beach in northeast Scotland, Donald Trump the businessman, was accused of being a bad neighbor. "This place will never, ever belong to Trump," Michael Forbes, 73, a retired quarry worker and salmon fisherman, said this week as he took a break from fixing a roof on his farm near Aberdeen. The land he owns is surrounded, though disguised in places by trees and hedges, by a golf resort owned by Trump's family business in Scotland, Trump International Scotland. For nearly 20 years, Forbes and several other families who live in Balmedie have resisted what they describe as bullying efforts by Trump to buy their land. (He has denied the allegations.) They and others also say he's failed to deliver on his promises to bring thousands of jobs to the area. Those old wounds are being reopened as Trump returns to Scotland for a four-day visit beginning July 25. It's the country where his mother was born. He appears to have great affection for it. Trump is visiting his golf resorts at Turnberry, on the west coast about 50 miles from Glasgow, and at Balmedie, where Forbes' 23 acres of jumbled, tractor-strewn land, which he shares with roaming chickens and three Highland cows, abut Trump's glossy and manicured golf resort. On July 28, Trump will briefly meet in Balmedie with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to "refine" a recent U.S.-U.K. trade deal, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Golf, a little diplomacy: Trump heads to Scotland In Scotland, where estimates from the National Library of Scotland suggest that as many as 34 out of the 45 American presidents have Scottish ancestry, opinions hew toward the he's-ill-suited-for-the-job, according to surveys. "Trump? He just doesn't know how to treat people," said Forbes, who refuses to sell. What Trump's teed up in Scotland Part of the Balmedie community's grievances relate to Trump's failure to deliver on his promises. According to planning documents, public accounts and his own statements, Trump promised, beginning in 2006, to inject $1.5 billion into his golf project six miles north of Aberdeen. He has spent about $120 million. Approval for the development, he vowed, came with more than 1,000 permanent jobs and 5,000 construction gigs attached. Instead, there were 84, meaning fewer than the 100 jobs that already existed when the land he bought was a shooting range. Instead of a 450-room luxury hotel and hundreds of homes that Trump pledged to build for the broader community, there is a 19-room boutique hotel and a small clubhouse with a restaurant and shop that sells Trump-branded whisky, leather hip flasks and golf paraphernalia. Financial filings show that his course on the Menie Estate in Balmedie lost $1.9 million in 2023 − its 11th consecutive financial loss since he acquired the 1,400-acre grounds in 2006. Residents who live and work near the course say that most days, even in the height of summer, the fairway appears to be less than half full. Representatives for Trump International say the plan all along has been to gradually phase in the development at Balmedie and that it is not realistic or fair to expect everything to be built overnight. There's also support for Trump from some residents who live nearby, and in the wider Aberdeen business community. "There used to be nothing but dunes here," said one Balmedie resident who lives in the shadow of Trump's course. "He's made it look a lot more attractive, no matter what other people might say." Fergus Mutch, a policy advisor for the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said Trump's golf resort has become a "key bit of the tourism offer" that attracts "significant spenders" to a region gripped by economic turmoil, steep job cuts and a prolonged downturn in its North Sea oil and gas industry. Trump in Scotland: Liked or loathed? Still, recent surveys show that 70% of Scots hold an unfavorable opinion of Trump. Despite his familial ties and deepening investments in Scotland, Trump is more unpopular among Scots than with the British public overall, according to an Ipsos survey from March. It shows 57% of people in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland don't view Trump positively. King Charles invites Trump: American president snags another UK state visit While in Balmedie this time, Trump will open a new 18-hole golf course on his property dedicated to his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who was a native of Lewis, in Scotland's Western Isles. He is likely to be met with a wave of protests around the resort, as well as the one in Turnberry. The Stop Trump Coalition, a group of campaigners who oppose most of Trump's domestic and foreign policies and the way he conducts his private and business affairs, is organizing a protest in Aberdeen and outside the U.S. consulate in Edinburgh. During Trump's initial visit to Scotland as president, in his first term, thousands of protesters sought to disrupt his visit, lining key routes and booing him. One protester even flew a powered paraglider into the restricted airspace over his Turnberry resort that bore a banner that read, "Trump: well below par #resist." 'Terrific guy': The Trump-Epstein party boy friendship lasted a decade, ended badly Trump's course in Turnberry has triggered less uproar than his Balmedie one because locals say that he's invested millions of dollars to restore the glamour of its 101-year-old hotel and three golf courses after he bought the site in 2014. Trump versus the families Three families still live directly on or adjacent to Trump's Balmedie golf resort. They say that long before the world had any clue about what type of president a billionaire New York real estate mogul and reality-TV star would become, they had a pretty good idea. Forbes is one of them. He said that shortly after Trump first tried to persuade him and his late wife to sell him their farm, workers he hired deliberately sabotaged an underground water pipe that left the Forbes – and his mother, then in her 90s, lived in her own nearby house – without clean drinking water for five years. Trump International declined to provide a fresh comment on those allegations, but a spokesperson previously told USA TODAY it "vigorously refutes" them. It said that when workers unintentionally disrupted a pipe that ran into an "antiquated" makeshift "well" jointly owned by the Forbeses on Trump's land, it was repaired immediately. Trump has previously called Forbes a "disgrace" who "lives like a pig." 'I don't have a big enough flagpole' David Milne, 61, another of Trump's seething Balmedie neighbors, lives in a converted coast guard station with views overlooking Trump's course and of the dunes and the North Sea beyond. In 2009, Trump offered him and his wife about $260,000 for his house and its one-fifth acre of land, Milne said. Trump was caught on camera saying he wanted to remove it because it was "ugly." Trump, he said, "threw in some jewelry," a golf club membership (Milne doesn't play), use of a spa (not yet built) and the right to buy, at cost, a house in a related development (not yet constructed). Milne valued the offer at about half the market rate. When Milne refused that offer, he said that landscapers working for Trump partially blocked the views from his house by planting a row of trees and sent Milne a $3,500 bill for a fence they'd built around his garden. Milne refused to pay. Over the years, Milne has pushed back. He flew a Mexican flag at his house for most of 2016, after Trump vowed to build a wall on the southern American border and make Mexico pay for it. Milne, a health and safety consultant in the energy industry, has hosted scores of journalists and TV crews at his home, where he has patiently explained the pros and cons − mostly cons, in his view, notwithstanding his own personal stake in the matter − of Trump's development for the local area. Milne said that because of his public feud with Trump, he's a little worried a freelance MAGA supporter could target him or his home. He has asked police to provide protection for him and his wife at his home while Trump is in the area. He also said he won't be flying any flags this time, apart from the Saltire, Scotland's national flag. "I don't have a big enough flagpole. I would need one from Mexico, Canada, Palestine. I would need Greenland, Denmark − you name it," he said, running through some of the places toward which Trump has adopted what critics view as aggressive and adversarial policies. Dunes of great natural importance Martin Ford was the local Aberdeen government official who originally oversaw Trump's planning application to build the Balmedie resort in 2006. He was part of a planning committee that rejected it over environmental concerns because the course would be built between sand dunes that were designated what the UK calls a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to the way they shift over time. The Scottish government swiftly overturned that ruling on the grounds that Trump's investment in the area would bring a much-needed economic boost. Neil Hobday, who was the project director for Trump's course in Balmedie, last year told the BBC he was "hoodwinked" by Trump over his claim that he would spend more than a billion dollars on it. Hobday said he felt "ashamed that I fell for it and Scotland fell for it. We all fell for it." The dunes lost their special status in 2020, according to Nature Scot, the agency that oversees such designations. It concluded that their special features had been "partially destroyed" by Trump's resort. Trump International disputes that finding, saying the issue became "highly politicized." For years, Trump also fought to block the installation of a wind farm off his resort's coast. He lost that fight. The first one was built in 2018. There are now 11 turbines. Ford has since retired but stands by his belief that allowing approval for the Trump resort was a mistake. "I feel cheated out of a very important natural habitat, which we said we would protect and we haven't," he said. "Trump came here and made a lot of promises that haven't materialized. In return, he was allowed to effectively destroy a nature site of great conservation value. It's not the proper behavior of a decent person." Forbes, the former quarry worker and fisherman, said he viewed Trump in similar terms. He said that Trump "will never ever get his hands on his farm." He said that wasn't just idle talk. He said he's put his land in a trust that specified that when he dies, it can't be sold for at least 125 years.

Trump admin offers $608M for states to build migrant camps modeled after ‘Alligator Alcatraz'
Trump admin offers $608M for states to build migrant camps modeled after ‘Alligator Alcatraz'

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Trump admin offers $608M for states to build migrant camps modeled after ‘Alligator Alcatraz'

The Trump administration is offering $608 million to states willing to expand migrant detention efforts. The money, announced through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) new Detention Support Grant Program (DEP), is aimed at helping states build or enlarge temporary detention facilities modeled after Florida's Everglades compound known as "Alligator Alcatraz," according to FEMA documents. "[Department of Homeland Security] Secretary Kristi Noem has been very clear that Alligator Alcatraz can be a blueprint for other states and local governments to assist with detention," a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Friday. The funding is part of FEMA's Shelter and Services Program and is open for applications through Aug. 8, per FEMA's announcement. Trump Says Only Way Out Of 'Alligator Alcatraz' Is Deportation The program is intended to fast-track construction of secure, temporary detention sites on state or local land, sidestepping long procurement delays. Read On The Fox News App Noem has criticized federal contractors as costly and slow, and has encouraged governors to take a more direct role. "They were willing to build it and do it much quicker than some of the other vendors," Noem said of Florida. "And it was a real solution we'll be able to utilize if we need to." Florida's facility was built in just eight days on remote Everglades land at the Dade-Collier Airport. It holds up to 3,000 migrants and is surrounded by fencing, swamp, and natural barriers. During a July 1 visit, President Donald Trump praised it as "so professional, so well done," calling it "a model we'd like to see in many states." "We're surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation," he added. Red States Consider 'Alligator Alcatraz' Spinoffs As Wh Urges Them To Follow Desantis' Lead: 'Lots Of Bears' Florida officials confirmed they are seeking FEMA reimbursement to help cover the camp's estimated $450 million annual operating cost. State officials say the site qualifies for federal funding under the new grant guidelines. According to Noem, five states are currently in talks with DHS about building similar detention facilities. "We've had several other states that are actually using Alligator Alcatraz as a model for how they can partner with us," she said during a recent news briefing. "I hope my phone rings off the hook from governors calling and saying, 'How can we do what Florida just did?'" The new funding comes as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) aims to double detention capacity. ICE reported more than 56,000 migrants in custody as of June, the highest since 2019, and is targeting 100,000 beds by the end of the year, according to DHS planning materials. Funds will be distributed by FEMA in partnership with Customs and Border Protection, according to DHS' posting. FEMA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Fox News' Greg Norman, Emma Colton, and Mara Robles contributed to this article source: Trump admin offers $608M for states to build migrant camps modeled after 'Alligator Alcatraz' Solve the daily Crossword

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store