A Fox News contributor on Sunday said the conservative network “has a strong desire to move away from” former President Donald Trump.
Mara Liasson, who is also a national political correspondent for NPR, made the comments during Fox News’ “Media Buzz” on Sunday.
“There is no doubt that the majority of conservative media – Fox first and foremost – have a strong desire to move away from Donald Trump,” Liasson said, “and [they] not paying enough attention and giving it enough airtime and ink like it used to.”
He noted that some of the coverage of Trump’s 2024 presidential announcement by the conservative media was less than enthusiastic.
“I think you can just look at the New York Post or Fox News and remember, when they announced the election campaign, ‘The people of Florida announced their re-election,’ page 26,” he said.
He is not exaggerating. When Trump launched his campaign in November, the Post, which is part of Rupert Murdoch’s right-wing media empire, buried the news on page 26. The tabloid’s front page included a note at the bottom of the page that read “Florida Man. Makes an Announcement.”
The Wall Street Journal, also owned by Murdoch, called Trump the “biggest loser of the Republican party” in an editorial after the midterm elections. Meanwhile, some pundits at Fox News suggest that Trump’s star has dimmed, and even Tucker Carlson won’t say which candidate he would support in a hypothetical Republican primary in 2024.
Murdoch is reportedly trying to distance his business from Trump and is turning to a potential 2024 rival for the Republican nominee, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.