Rupert Murdoch's Media Empire Split Over Donald Trump

[Commentary] The Wall Street Journal editorial board slammed “conservative media” in July 20th's paper for acting as apologists for real estate developer and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. “[T]oday many on the right seem willing to indulge any populist outburst no matter how divorced from reality or insulting to most Americans,” Journal editors wrote. “If Donald Trump becomes the voice of conservatives, conservatism will implode along with him.” The Journal's blistering editorial echoed the views of owner Rupert Murdoch and suggested a split within the conservative mogul's media empire.

Murdoch's Fox News gave Trump more airtime last month of any Republican candidate, and some of the network's hosts have been more willing to defend, or at least explain, Trump's controversial comments than many in the media. On July 20th's "Fox & Friends," the show's co-hosts repeatedly said that Trump had immediately "corrected" himself after remarking July 18 that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was not a war hero, and yet the "mainstream media" was ignoring those clarifications. Murdoch, who previously criticized Trump's caustic immigration comments, tweeted that night, "When is Donald Trump going to stop embarrassing his friends, let alone the whole country?"