Rupert Murdoch tells Donald Trump he will not back his return to the White House

Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch is reported to have told Donald Trump that he will not back the former president if he attempts to run for office again.

Trump, who held office from 2016 to 2020, is expected to officially announce his next run for president from his Mar-a-Largo resort in Florida today (15 November), just over two years after Joe Biden was confirmed to have won the 2020 election.

The news has been met with mixed responses from both members of the public and of the Republican party, with many previous supporters changing their opinions after Trump's presidency came to an end following the insurrection at the Capitol building.

Murdoch, whose media outlets are thought to have significant sway over Republican supporters, is said to be among those who have made clear that they will not back Trump's attempts to return to the White House.

One senior from News Corp, of which Murdoch is chairman, told i: “We have been clear with Donald. There have been conversations between them during which Rupert made it clear to Donald that we cannot back another run for the White House.”

Howard Walker / Alamy Stock Photo

The source also claimed that Murdoch's son, Lachlan, has shown support for Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis should he choose to run for president, saying: "Lachlan has been keen on Ron for some time. He’s viewed within the organisation as a sanitised version of Donald."

The family are expected to 'likely remain neutral' if the 2024 presidential race sees the return of both Biden and Trump, but if the Democrats find a 'credible candidate to take Joe's place' then the source said the Murdoch media empire could move to back the Democrats.

However, the source noted that 'a lot of things would have to fall into place for that to happen'.

Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo

"Joe would not be running, and the Democrats would have to have a new strong candidate," he added. "And that is not Kamala [Vice-President Harris]. But I don’t believe the Democrats know who could replace Joe yet so he may well go for a second term, especially given his relative success in the midterms.”

Another source from News Corp described the controversial statements and actions of Trump following the 2020 election as 'the beginning of the end of his political career', adding: “Donald may not realise that quite yet, but many others have.”

Jason Miller, a longtime adviser to the former president, has told CBS that Trump would be making a 'professional, very buttoned-up announcement' regarding his run for president this evening.