National Harbor, MD – Steve Bannon, a former top adviser to Donald Trump, unleashed attacks on Fox News and its chairman Rupert Murdoch on Friday – a sign of growing tension between the former president’s political network and Murdoch’s conservative media empire. .
“You’ve disrespected Donald J. Trump for too long,” Bannon, host A popular right-wing podcastMurdoch spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference, which was largely attended by Trump-loyal Republicans.
“Murdoch, you assume Trump is not going to be president,” Bannon added at the end of his fiery speech. “Well, we assume you won’t have a network. Because we’re going to fight you every step of the way.”
Derisively branding the Australian-born Murdoch and his family a “bunch of foreigners,” he named them, along with hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin and Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, as enemies of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.
The broadsides came as Trump and his allies were saddened by Fox News’ coverage of the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Meanwhile, Murdoch’s News Corp.-owned cable network and other media properties feature Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — Trump’s strongest contender for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, according to polls — prominently. Latest coverage. As part of her current book tour, DeSantis has already engaged in interviews with two Murdoch properties, the New York Post and The Times of London, as well as interviews with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, Mark Levin, Jesse Waters and a host of others. “Fox & Friends.” DeSantis’ memoir was published by Murdoch-owned HarperCollins.
“Old man Murdoch, while you’re at it, no more softball interviews for the guys running against Trump,” Bannon said Friday.
A Fox News spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Fox Nation, the streaming platform, has sponsored and broadcast CPAC events in the past But this year it didn’t.
Pannon Sentenced to four months imprisonment in October after he was found guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack. There has been a delay in sentencing him is appealing his conviction.
Bannon’s comments come days after court documents on Dominion’s voting systems. $1.6 billion defamation suit Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corporation, were unsealed. Many disbelieved and openly mocked the president’s false fraud claims after the 2020 election — while allowing them to grow on the air, as the documents made public private communications between Fox News hosts and executives. Dominion sued Fox for airing unsubstantiated claims of vote flipping that Trump associates accused.
Murdoch found little evidence for Trump’s claims, and found some to be “bulls— and damaging.” In one email, he suggested that Trump might turn out to be a “sore loser.” Murdoch also acknowledged in testimony that some Fox News hosts, including Jeanine Pirro, Lou Dobbs and Maria Bartiromo, have done more than provide a platform for baseless claims of voter fraud. In emails after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Murdoch said Fox News “wanted to make Trump a person” and “lead as quickly as possible.”
“We have to lead our audience, which is not as easy as it seems,” he filed.
Fox News defended its coverage and called Dominion’s case “baseless.”
“Read the depositions,” Bannon said. “They have fear, hatred and contempt for you.”
Bannon lashed out at the cable network for pre-calling Arizona’s electoral votes for Democrat Joe Biden on 2020 election night and for not covering the 2024 campaign closely.
“They won’t even cover it live for 20 minutes,” Bannon said of Trump Announcement speech November. “Then they say, ‘If there’s something newsworthy, we’ll cut it,’ and they go to some panel and some discussion. Note to Fox senior management: When Donald J. Trump speaks, it’s newsworthy.”
Throughout the past week, Trump has been ripping Fox News leadership on his Truth Social site. Posting Murdoch “throws his anchors under the table, which kills his case and infuriates his audience, who will again leave in droves – and they already have” and demands that Murdoch “apologize to viewers and readers for his ridiculous actions”. Security of the 2020 Presidential Election.
Trump continues to push for election”properly!” including reviews of the 2020 election Hand counts And Risk-control auditElection results across swing states have been verified, and Trump’s efforts to reverse the election result were thrown away of the court On dozens of occasions.
“If Rupert Murdoch honestly believes that the 2020 presidential election was not rigged and stolen, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, then he and his group of MAGA Hating Globalist RINOS need to get out of the news business ASAP because they are helping destroy America with fake news. wrote. “Some brave and patriotic Fox News hosts, whom he despises and mocks, got it right. He got it wrong. They should be applauded and applauded, not condemned and abandoned!!!”
This article was originally published NBCNews.com
