Rupert Murdoch Reportedly Made the Call to Bury Trump's Election Night Dreams in a Shallow Grave

[Zorro]

Both Kushner and Trump are said to have personally pleaded with the Fox News owner to retract the call.

In the early-morning hours of November 4, the day after the 2020 election, Donald Trump held a news conference in the East Room of the White House in which he falsely claimed that the fact that he had been ahead in the early tallying of votes, and then later behind, meant that the election had been stolen from him. “This is a fraud on the American public,” he declared. “This is an embarrassment to this country. We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election.” Obviously that wasn’t true at all—Trump hadn’t won anything because not all of the votes had been counted yet. Still, in some states it had become clear that he was very likely going to lose, hence Fox News’s decision to declare Arizona for Joe Biden. At the time the call from the right-wing outlet, made before any other major network, shocked the country—and according to a new book, it was Rupert Murdoch who gave it the greenlight, with some less-than-charitable things to say about Trump!

Insider reports that Michael Wolff’s forthcoming book, Landslide, includes a scene in which Lachlan Murdoch, the nonagenarian billionaire’s son, got a call from Fox’s election desk saying it was ready to announce Biden had won Arizona, which he then took to the top:

The book [notes] that the Murdochs—who spearhead a vast right-wing media empire—had “every reason” to delay calling Arizona at the time, given Fox’s steadfast allegiance to Trump and the fact that no other network had made the call yet. “Lachlan got his father on the phone to ask if he wanted to make the early call. His father, with signature grunt, assented, adding, ‘F--- him,’” Wolff wrote. The book [says] that Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer then called Trump’s lead social media strategist, Jason Miller, to let him know the network was going to call Arizona for Biden. “Miller involuntarily rose from his seat. ‘What the f---?’ he said out loud, looking around and seeing the still-merry and untroubled faces in the Map Room”...Wolff wrote. Hemmer reportedly replied: “That’s what they’re doing. That’s what they’re going with.”
“Who?” Miller asked.
“The election desk,” Hemmer said, adding that the network’s decision was going to be aired imminently. The decision to call Arizona for Biden was a pivotal moment on election night, indicating the Democrat was poised to win the traditionally Republican-leaning state and complicating Trump’s ability to declare an early victory in the overall race.

In a statement, a Fox News Media spokesperson told the Hive: "This account is completely false. Arnon Mishkin who leads the FOX News Decision Desk made the Arizona call on election night and FOX News Media President Jay Wallace was then called in the control room. Any other version of the story is wildly inaccurate.” Regarding Bill Hemmer’s call to Miller, a Fox News spokesperson insisted “This never happened and is completely untrue.”

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/07/rupert-murdoch-donald-trump-arizona-2020

[Kid Berwyn]

1. There may be hope for Rupert, yet.

Great story, if true. Sure want to express thanks to the Murdochs for standing up to the orange wannabe Hitler.

[Hugin]

2. The organ grinder only cares about how entertaining his monkey is...

TFG wasn't amusing that night.

[Zorro]

4. Murdoch's ego is even bigger than Trump's

He didn't make the call for the good of the country, he did it because he relishes his unaccountable power and influence over the nation. I'm sure he enjoyed telling Trump to FO.

[David__77]

3. I appreciated how much that act fucked Trump.

And also, how much the dynamics of AZ vote counting also fucked Trump, to the point that the rightists were simultaneously proclaiming “stop the count” and “count all the votes,” until they settled on outright coup as the best approach.

[Walleye]

5. Ha! They had planned on stealing the election by getting early calls from the networks.

Their plot was foiled and turned against them. The Biden wins call for Arizona has held up. That must really piss him off

[Blue Owl]

6. Much as I hate to admit it, that was kinda the highlight of election night...

Just knowing tRump got royally fucked by McCain's state made my night!