The Wall Street Journal's decision to publish a report claiming Donald Trump contributed to a letter to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has ignited a fresh clash between the president and media mogul Rupert Murdoch. The article, which featured a typewritten personal message alongside a drawing of a naked woman's silhouette, prompted Trump to telephone the Journal's British editor, Emma Tucker, and demand she drop the story. Trump also claims Murdoch himself was approached in an attempt to stop publication, to no avail.
The confrontation marks a sharp turn in a relationship that appeared cordial just days earlier, when the 94-year-old Murdoch was among the president's guests at the Fifa Club World Cup final. Following the article's publication, Trump has added Murdoch's outlets to a lengthy list of media targets threatened with court action. Yet the Journal's decision to run the Epstein allegations, despite presidential pressure, is seen by some media watchers as evidence that Murdoch is pursuing a different strategy from other billionaire proprietors.
Even before the Epstein story broke, the Journal had adopted a critical stance on aspects of Trump's second term. In January, its editorial page condemned his unconditional pardon for many involved in the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot. It also accused Trump of bypassing Congress to suspend a law forcing TikTok to break from its Chinese owner, describing the move as 'illegal' and 'pleasing China's Xi Jinping'. The paper has also criticised Trump's launch of family crypto tokens. Earlier, it had called his tariff battle with Canada and Mexico 'the dumbest trade war in history'.
However, the Journal's critical coverage does not signify a decisive break between Murdoch and the president. Fox News, the cash cow of Murdoch's empire and a powerhouse in the Make America Great Again movement, continues to provide supportive content. The Epstein letter story was relegated to an opinion piece low on the network's online homepage on Friday morning. Observers of Murdoch's career suggest his decisions are ultimately driven by business, with the Journal appealing to economically hawkish Trump sceptics while Fox News serves the president's core supporters.
The episode also highlights growing internal pressures within pro-Trump media over the Epstein files. Influential figures such as Tucker Carlson and Laura Loomer have protested the lack of action in releasing all documentation relating to Epstein, while others adhere to Trump's assertion that the existence of extensive files is a 'hoax'. For Murdoch, the saga appears to confirm his reputation as a different breed of media owner, one with a thick skin developed over decades of making and breaking political careers. As veteran media writer Ben Smith put it: 'If you want to be a mogul, as the Murdochs have learned over the decades, you can't make yourself quite that easy to bully.'
