Trump-Murdoch-Epstein debacle evolves into MAGA movement's next loyalty test

The volatile relationship between former President Donald Trump and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch flared up again this week following an explosive article in the Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal that linked Trump to Jeffrey Epstein via a provocative birthday letter. The letter, reportedly written in 2003 with “heavy sexual undertones,” was said to bear Trump’s name—despite his direct appeal to Murdoch to suppress the story that he claims is fabricated. Published on July 17, the WSJ article landed at a sensitive time for Trump, who is facing mounting public pressure to release more documents related to the high-profile Epstein sex trafficking case involving minors. The timing has intensified a long-standing power struggle between Trump and Murdoch over control of the conservative media narrative.

According to the news article, the 2003 letter in question was sent to Epstein and raised eyebrows for its explicit tone and alleged connection to Trump. The former president, in response, claimed he “personally” reached out to Murdoch to quash the piece. “He assured me he would take care of it but, obviously, did not have the power to do so,” Trump told advisers.

The escalating feud adds a new chapter to the pair’s half-century-long, hot-and-cold alliance. Murdoch, the Australian-born billionaire behind a global media empire—including Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Britain's The Sun, and Sky Australia—has generally provided Trump with favourable coverage. Still, the relationship has seen its share of breakdowns when Trump's behaviour or rhetoric conflicted with Murdoch’s editorial direction, as The Telegraph recalls.

The latest fallout comes just days after Murdoch reportedly visited the White House on Trump's initiation to watch the FIFA Club World Cup final on July 13.

Bumpy 50-years long relationship

Since their first meeting in New York in the 1970s, Trump and Murdoch have developed a complex relationship marked by alternating support and criticism. Murdoch’s outlets covered Trump’s journey from flamboyant real-estate developer to two-time U.S. president. But they have not always fallen in line.

For instance, the New York Post did not endorse Trump in 2016, and Murdoch initially backed other GOP hopefuls. After Trump mocked Vietnam veteran and Republican heavyweight Sen. John McCain, Murdoch publicly criticized him in an X post, asking “When is Donald Trump going to stop embarrassing his friends, let alone the whole country?”

Yet Murdoch later shifted gears, saying the “[Republican] party would be mad not to unify” behind Trump. By the time Trump was in the White House for his first term, Murdoch had become a trusted outside adviser, reportedly speaking to him “almost every day,” according to The New York Times.

That relationship soured sharply after Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results culminated in the January 6 Capitol riot. Internal documents from the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit later revealed Murdoch telling a colleague, “We want to make Trump a non person.” Fox eventually settled the case for $787.5 million, admitting it had aired knowingly false claims that Dominion’s voting machines were rigged.

In August 2023, Trump lashed out at Murdoch again, accusing him of undermining his second presidential run. “Fox News and the Wall Street Journal fight me because Murdoch is a globalist,” Trump said in a video on Truth Social. “And I am America First. It’s very simple, and it will always be that way, so get used to it.” He also alleged that Murdoch's empire was backing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, calling him a “Murdoch pick” who had “fallen like a very badly injured bird out of the sky.”

Rift within MAGA camp

Meanwhile, Trump’s MAGA base, where cracks have already appeared in light of conflicting views regarding his administration’s policies on issues like arming Ukraine, Iran, fiscal policies and others, has now become increasingly restless about the Epstein case. During his campaign, Trump vowed to release all documents tied to Epstein, a promise that helped energize his supporters. But after initially pledging transparency, he appeared to downplay the issue—only to later insult critics who kept pushing for answers related to the sex trafficking legal case.

Now, prominent conservative voices are speaking out. Journalist Megyn Kelly and political activist Charlie Kirk recently called on Trump to follow through with his promise. “One of the main reasons that we voted Trump in was because we wanted real answers on real stories and we didn’t want to be BS’ed anymore with a bunch of nonsense from our government that treated us like a bunch of stooges,” Kelly said during a conversation at a conservative conference, as cited by ABC.

“I believe Trump is still loyal to that mission and maybe the people who are behind that memo are loyal to that mission, too, but this ain’t it,” she added. Both Kelly and Kirk demanded full public access to the Epstein files, excluding material involving child sexual assault. “I think every file should be released to the public the same way as the JFK files. Let the American people decide,” Kirk stated.

US media outlets suggest that the next phase of this high-stakes rivalry could reshape both the media landscape and Trump’s political future considering the rising frustrations among his supporters on this and many other matters.

By Khagan Isayev