Kingmaker to spectator: Rupert Murdoch bumped to Republican sidelines

The media baron’s backseat position at the Republican Convention reflects his diminished influence over a party wholly remade in Donald Trump’s image.

Daniel Thomas and Christopher Grimes

Updated Jul 25, 2024 – 6.15am, first published at 5.00am

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Generations of politicians have been willing to fly thousands of kilometres for an audience with Rupert Murdoch. But last week it was Murdoch, 93, who travelled to Milwaukee to witness Donald Trump accept the Republican Party’s nomination for president, watching from a box in the arena.

Murdoch watchers say the media baron had not been to a US political convention in decades, if ever. Some saw it as a conciliatory gesture towards Trump – a man Murdoch has known for decades but never viewed as the best presidential material.

Financial Times