How Rupert Murdoch quietly helped Mike Johnson survive Marjorie Taylor Greene’s ouster attempt
CNN
Rupert Murdoch might not be flexing for the cameras, but he did just quietly demonstrate the power he still wields inside the Republican Party.
Editor’s Note: A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. Sign up for the daily digest chronicling the evolving media landscape here. Rupert Murdoch might not be flexing for the cameras, but he did just quietly demonstrate the power he still wields inside the Republican Party. The right-wing media mogul’s empire — which includes Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post — not-so-subtly backed Mike Johnson as Marjorie Taylor Greene waged an all-out assault against the House Speaker over his decision to pass an aid package for Ukraine. Murdoch’s powerful collection of outlets not only voiced support for Johnson, but leveled scathing attacks on Greene, with the Post even going as far as to blast her as “MOSCOW MARJORIE” on its cover. But Murdoch was an anomaly, to a large degree, in the right-wing media universe. While his collection of outlets supported Johnson, the hardline faction of MAGA Media spent weeks assailing him. These outlets and personalities — including Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Charlie Kirk, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, and others — portrayed Johnson to their audiences as a squishy Republican who had betrayed the conservative movement and was instead doing the bidding of the Democratic Party. The barrage of missiles fired squarely at Johnson, however, failed to deliver a fatal blow against the House Speaker on Wednesday, with the House swiftly voting to kill her resolution to oust Johnson from his leadership post. The end to the embarrassing debacle came after she failed to win over the support of Donald Trump and other GOP allies, coupled with the fact that Democrats provided support for Johnson. On Fox News, the vote was treated with such dismissal that it notably did not break into its regularly scheduled episode of “The Five” to cut to the House chamber to air the vote in full as CNN and MSNBC did.
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