Fox News vs. Trump: No press freedom heroes

W hen Trump inaugurated a new helipad at the White House on Monday, the US President didn't miss the opportunity to say a few words. But these words could not be understood by viewers of the video material. The reason: The microphones of the major TV channels were missing in front of Trump's face. The verbalized stream of consciousness faded into the void.

The major media companies are currently refusing to report on Trump. After Trump excluded the channels CNN and MS NOW and the “Politico” portal from the White House press pool in recent weeks due to negative reporting, other media outlets expressed solidarity. Even the right-wing broadcaster Fox News joined the boycott campaign. No longer a media entourage that follows the president wherever he goes.

The fact that even a broadcaster from the Rupert Murdoch empire is taking part in the campaign may seem surprising at first. For many, Fox News is considered the president's home channel. So what's going on? Has Fox suddenly found its backbone? Are you now part of the “Resistance”? Hardly.

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While a broad front against Trump's attack on the press is welcome, one should be under no illusions about Fox's motives. Fox owner Murdoch is simply pursuing his business interests here. If it benefits him and his company to provide court reporting on Trump and ignore his attacks on the entire range of civil liberties, then the station will do that. If it thinks it will benefit him to oppose the president, then he will do that.

Trump's relationship with Fox News has always been characterized by contradictions. For Trump, Fox is at best a mouthpiece whose morning shows he can dial in to spread his line. For the station, reporting on Trump is a viewer magnet that increases sales. More Trump means higher ratings. For this reason, not only Fox, but also more liberal channels report on every stupid thing the president does, no matter how banal.

But if - as in this case - it is about Trump excluding the media, then those responsible at Fox must also see this as a direct attack on their interests, namely to report freely. Because Fox also knows that they are not protected from Trump's anger and that it can affect them too. And at least behind the scenes, many Fox journalists gossip about the president.

An example of the difficult relationship between Fox and the president is its coverage of Trump's lie about the stolen 2020 election. Fox employees, and even Murdoch himself, called Trump's claims in private messages unbelievable and "crazy." Publicly, however, the station supported the “Big Lie” of massive election fraud.

When the station announced Biden's victory in the battleground state of Arizona on election night, the Trump fan base pounced on Fox with angry news. Its ratings plummeted in the following weeks. During the 2024 election campaign, Fox appeared to be more inclined towards Trump rival Ron DeSantis, but then swung back again when Trump prevailed.

It is also not the first time that the news tycoon's media company has found itself in open dispute with Trump. The president is currently suing the Murdoch paper Wall Street Journal (WSJ) after the conservative newspaper published a birthday letter that Trump is said to have sent to pedo-criminal human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Trump claims the letter never existed and is seeking $10 billion in damages.

This dispute is not about higher principles, but about the interests of the newspaper company. And even if the WSJ is sympathetic to Trump's policies on some points, it would have been damaging to business to withhold the scandalous letter. There is no reason why the Murdoch media shouldn't confidently represent their interests against Trump here, especially since the 80-year-old is currently on the political ropes.

The criticism from the right-wing media will of course primarily be aimed at Trump as a person. What is missing is a real criticism of the core of his politics, which ultimately serves the interests of capital - and thus also Rupert Murdoch's interests.