Who's the Loser Now: Murdoch news organisations and The Donald

The Speed At Which Conservative Press Turned On Trump Was As Dizzying As The Invectives Were Harsh

- Renuka Bisht

It was love at the first sight of an election win, and a bitter parting as news of election defeats rolled in.

When the anticipated “red wave” turned out to be a disappointing little puddle on election day, it was bound to have brought out the knives from Republican supporters. Even so, the pace at which Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post and Wall Street Journal broke ranks with their once favourite Donald Trump has been dizzying.

They turned on the former president overnight. WSJ editorialised on November 10 that amid conditions where GOP should have coasted at least to a normal midterm victory, its failure was down to nominating to “too many lousy candidates who courted Donald Trump more than they did voters”. Also overnight the Trump legacy was rewritten to name him the party’s biggest loser: “He has now flopped in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022.”