What to know about the Trump-Murdoch relationship
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Rupert Murdoch looks on as President Trump speaks to members of the media at the White House on Feb. 3. Photo: Craig Hudson for The Washington Post via Getty Images
President Trump and Rupert Murdoch's on-again, off-again relationship hit a new wall Thursday after the Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal reported that a racy birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein bore Trump's name — despite Trump urging Murdoch to kill the story.
The big picture: The WSJ story appeared at a time when Trump is facing mounting pressure to release additional documents in the Epstein case as the president and Murdoch fight over the conservative media narrative.
Driving the news: The WSJ story details a "bawdy" birthday letter to Epstein in 2003 that it claims bore Trump's name.
- According to documents the WSJ reported reviewing, the letter was said to be one of many that close Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell compiled in a leather-bound album for Epstein's 50th birthday.
- The Justice Department didn't respond to requests for comment about whether the pages of the birthday album were part of the agency's recent document review, per WSJ.
- Maxwell was found guilty of helping Epstein sexually abuse several teenage girls in 2021.
What they're saying: Trump slammed the WSJ story after it got published, saying he told Murdoch not to run the story.
- "I told Rupert Murdoch it was a Scam, that he shouldn't print this Fake Story," Trump posted on Truth Social Thursday night. "But he did, and now I'm going to sue his ass off, and that of his third rate newspaper."
- Trump posted that he was hoping to make Murdoch testify in the lawsuit, saying it would be "an interesting experience!!!"
State of play: Trump and the media mogul have had a cozy relationship for years, but occasionally relations have grown tense when Trump's stances have clashed with Murdoch's views as well as the news outlet's reporting.
Here's a timeline of what we know about the relationship between the two men:
During Trump's 2016 presidential run
Murdoch criticized Trump in a post on X shortly after Trump mocked Sen. John McCain for being captured during the Vietnam War.
- "When is Donald Trump going to stop embarrassing his friends, let alone the whole country?" Murdoch wrote.
Murdoch initially supported other Republican candidates for president in the 2016 campaign, but ultimately said the "party would be mad not to unify" behind Trump if he became the nominee.
Flashback: The media mogul purportedly called Trump a "f*cking idiot" after a conversation the two had during the transition from the Obama to Trump White House in 2016, according to Michael Wolff's 2018 book, "Fire and Fury."
During Trump's first term as president
Murdoch was one of Trump's key advisers outside the White House, according to the New York Times.
- The Times also reported the president spoke to Murdoch "almost every day."
Post-2020 election
Trump and Murdoch's relationship hit another low after the president encouraged his supporters to protest the 2020 election, and the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol ensued.
Murdoch privately criticized Trump's actions in documents released by a judge in a lawsuit over the false claims that Dominion Voting Systems rigged the election against the president.
- "Trump insisting on the election being stolen and convincing 25% of Americans was a huge disservice to the country. Pretty much a crime. Inevitable it blew up Jan 6th," Murdoch wrote.
- The relationship continued to sour after Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems almost $800 million to settle a case that could have forced Murdoch to testify publicly about the outlet's coverage of Trump's election denial.
During the 2024 presidential campaign
In August 2023, Trump accused Murdoch of trying to sabotage his second campaign for president.
- "Fox News and the Wall Street Journal fight me because Murdoch is a globalist," Trump said in a video posted to Truth Social. "And I am America First. It's very simple, and it will always be that way, so get used to it."
- Trump claimed that the Murdoch outlets wanted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to win the Republican primary, and taunted his rival, calling him a "Murdoch pick" who has "fallen like a very badly injured bird out of the sky."
During Trump's second administration
Trump hosted Murdoch in the Oval Office in February, when the president called him "legendary" in business and publishing.
- "Rupert Murdoch is in a class by himself — he's an amazing guy," Trump told the press.
Murdoch was also seen in Trump's suite at the FIFA Club World Cup final last weekend, just days before the WSJ story appeared.
Go deeper: What we know about Trump's relationship with Epstein
