Rupert Murdoch has launched a campaign to get Donald Trump to choose North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as his running mate and is lobbying against Senator JD Vance.
The retired media mogul is said to have regularly called the former president to personally urge him to select Burgum and sent representatives and staff to Mar-a-Lago to help him make his case.
The 93-year-old billionaire backed Ron DeSantis to be the next Republican in the White House, but his poor showing in the primaries meant he dropped out before Super Tuesday.
When it became inevitable that Trump would be the nominee, Murdoch went behind the scenes to try to put his stamp on the Republican Party ticket.
As the race for a running mate intensified, he used his U.S. posts to boost his campaign.
Rupert Murdoch has launched a campaign to get Donald Trump to choose North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as his running mate and is lobbying against Senator JD Vance.
The Wall Street Journal endorsed Burgum and the New York Post also wrote editorials supporting the governor, who had a relatively low profile before running for president.
A source confirmed to DailyMail.com that Murdoch has invested heavily in Trump’s vice presidential bids.
Donald is expected to announce his choice at the Republican National Convention next week, and has continued to tease his list of candidates.
Burgum, Vance and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio are the front-runners, while South Carolina’s Tim Scott is also believed to be under consideration.
Murdoch’s lobbying effort, first reported by WE DO NOThas included multiple calls in one day.
Your plan is also likely to face significant obstacles.
Trump is unlikely to forget the glowing coverage Murdoch media gave DeSantis to boost him in the early stages of the race.
The retired media mogul is said to have regularly called the former president to personally urge him to select Burgum and sent representatives and staff to Mar-a-Lago to help him make the case.
Rupert Murdoch, 93, with his new wife Elena Zhukova, 67, a retired Russian biologist. The couple married in June
It didn’t work, as DeSantis was impressed by Trump’s primary victories in early states.
A Fox News communications consultant said WE DO NOTRupert has always considered Trump to be subordinate to him.
“And that bothers him. He doesn’t feel like spending another four years kissing Trump’s ass. They don’t want Trump on Fox, so they put Burgum there and set him up for the next four years and make him president.
Rupert Murdoch attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference in Idaho. He is pictured here on Tuesday.
“That’s their way of ending Trumpism.”
A Trump adviser said: “Through their media outlets, they are using the exact same playbook against JD and in support of Burgum that they used against DJT and in support of DeSantis during the primaries.”
When Trump first ran for president in the 2016 general election, he was a frequent guest on Fox News.
Murdoch and his media empire were seen as driving forces that helped propel him to the nomination and his victory over Hillary Clinton.
Since then, their relationship has been anything but cordial and has deteriorated since January 6 and the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit that forced Murdoch to pay $787 million in damages.
The 93-year-old billionaire backed Ron DeSantis to be the next Republican in the White House, but his poor showing in the primaries meant he dropped out before Super Tuesday.
JD Vance is a front-runner in the race to be Trump’s running mate, which will be announced next week.
During the case, internal communications from Fox executives, including Murdoch, showed they were skeptical of Trump’s claim that the election was stolen.
When Murdoch retired as chairman of Fox and News Corp in 2023, Trump said: ‘A lot of people are saying, ‘You forced Rupert Murdoch out of office!’
‘I don’t think so, but while we’re at it, how about we get rid of ‘Democrat’ Mitch McConnell, who gives the radical left lunatics, along with their small group of automatic ‘yes’ votes, EVERYTHING they want?’
Trump also called him a “globalist” who was committed to preventing him from running for president.
The New York Post’s November 2022 cover was headlined “Trumpty Dumpty,” after Republicans underperformed in the midterm elections.
DailyMail.com has contacted News Corp for comment.