A private meeting between Murdoch and Vance, days before the President served the media mogul with a $10bn lawsuit over the Wall Street Journal’s reporting of Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, has prompted feverish speculation over the 94 year-old’s latest power-play.
Always personally sceptical of Trump and a vocal critic of the President’s tariffs, Murdoch’s recent actions suggest he is preparing to lend his weight to a new figurehead to lead the conservative Maga movement into a post-Trump era.
The ‘WSJ’ claimed Trump’s name appeared on a 2003 note to Epstein, sparking a row between the US President and the publication(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)A motorcade ferried Vance to the Murdoch family ranch in southwest Montana, where the VP met with Rupert, son Lachlan, head of Fox News and News Corp and other Fox News executives.
Vance’s role as head of the Republican party’s fund-raising committee gives him the opportunity to meet potential donors, for both the 2026 mid-term elections and a future Presidential run.
The presence of executives from Fox News, the jewel in Murdoch’s $28bn empire, suggests that the discussions touched on the future direction of the hugely-influential right-wing cable news network, which last week beat all other broadcast networks in prime-time.
“There is no route to the White House for a Republican without Fox News. Vance will need to test the water with Murdoch, could that unshakeable support switch to him when he runs?”
Rupert Murdoch in the Oval Office as President Trump signs executive orders on 3 February 2025 Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The executive added: “Importantly for the Murdochs, if a politician comes to them early for support, then they have a hold over them. They never had that with Trump who was self-made and established his own power base.”
If the Murdoch-Trump feud continues – Rupert reportedly said that, at aged 94, he is not “intimidated” by anyone – then his media empire could help sell the Vice-President to Republican voters as Trump’s natural successor.
Vance could immerse himself in the Chipping Norton set, whose residents include Rebekah Brooks, CEO of Murdoch’s News UK and Rupert’s TV executive daughter Elizabeth. Rupert himself splashed £30m in 2020 on a Banbury manor house he intended to do-up with former wife, Jerry Hall.
But he could also be hedging his bets with some speculating the rift with Trump may not be terminal after all.
When WSJ editor Emma Tucker stood by the paper’s story, Trump called Murdoch. Trump claimed: “Mr. Murdoch stated that he would take care of it but, obviously, did not have the power to do so.”
Vice President JD Vance is expected to holiday in the UK this Summer (Getty Images)
Trump has been emboldened by media giants caving in to his demands. CBS announced it was canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — the top-rated late-night programme — just days after Colbert called his own network’s $16 million settlement with Trump over the editing of a Kamala Harris interview, “a big fat bribe.”
A senior Murdoch journalist said: “There is still a core to Rupert of wanting to break the big story and not caring who it upsets. Right now, there is no downside as he doesn’t have any business deals that need White House approval.”
As recently as February, Murdoch was invited to sit in the Oval Office whilst the President signed executive orders. Even then, Trump used the occasion to berate the billionaire over the WSJ’s critical editorials.
Vance, whose supporters include Conservative tech billionaire Peter Thiel, has been at pains to show his loyalty to Trump during the Epstein row, calling the WSJ article “complete and utter bulls**t.”
Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal’s publisher, defended the Journal’s reporting, saying, “We have full confidence in the rigour and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”
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