Eyebrows were raised as billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch was pictured with President Donald Trump on Monday in the Oval Office.
The powerhouse behind Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and New York Post attended a White House event where Trump signed an executive order establishing a U.S. sovereign wealth fund.
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The president said the fund could buy TikTok from Chinese-based ByteDance.
With Murdoch just feet away, the president was asked by a reporter to respond to an editorial headline in Friday’s Wall Street Journal condemning his tariff policy for creating “The Dumbest Trade War in History.”
“Not only is it not dumb, you’re going to see every single one of those countries is dying to make a deal,” he said of the plan to impose import taxes on Canadian, Mexican and Chinese goods. “You know why? Because they’re ripping us off.”
Asked again later about the editorial, Trump said he had great respect for Murdoch but that he disagreed with him “a lot of times.”
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Evan Vucci/Associated Press
Explaining his thinking on tariffs, Trump added, “Nobody can compete with us because we’re the pot of gold.
“But if we don’t keep winning and keep doing well, we won’t be the pot of gold, and then tariffs won’t be so good for us.
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“But when you’re the pot of gold, the tariffs are very good. They’re very powerful.”
Oracle founder and conservative mega-donor Larry Ellison was also on hand.
Murdoch stepped back as the chairman of Fox Corp. and News Corp. in 2023 but remains a hugely influential figure in American media.
His media outlets take different positions on Trump. While The Wall Street Journal has been critical of many Trump decisions in the first weeks of his second presidential term, Fox News recently ran a segment about whether his likeness should be carved into Mount Rushmore.
Some legacy media have been less willing to stand up to his second term, and Murdoch’s appearance is another sign of a softer approach.
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“Once upon a time the fourth estate stood outside power and held it to account,” Alan Rusbridger, former editor of The Guardian, said on the Bluesky social media platform. “Now they’re in the room to oblige with the photo-opportunities.”
Rusbridger also pointed to the photo “proudly” appearing in the New York Post.

Evan Vucci/Associated Press