Rupert Murdoch wanted Donald Trump to change his mind about tariffs.
So he communicated the best way he knows how: through Fox News.
That’s the takeaway I got Wednesday morning when I saw clips of Fox programs raising the alarm.
Here’s Steve Doocy on “Fox & Friends” relaying the story of an American small business swamped by China tariffs:
Fox News tells a story a small business owner who used to pay $26,000 in tariffs on goods imported from China, but now faces a $346,000 tariff due to Trump’s new 104% tariff on Chinese imports.
“We think that China is gonna have to pay for it. A special needs toy importer– when… pic.twitter.com/bcDBrlUggM
— Ron Smith (@Ronxyz00) April 9, 2025
And over on Fox Business, here’s JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon telling host Maria Bartiromo it’s “likely” that the US is headed for a recession.
Bartiromo: “Do you personally expect a recession?”
J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon: “I am going to defer to my economists at this point, but I think probably. That’s a likely outcome.” pic.twitter.com/RWe70xZMPu
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) April 9, 2025
Let’s spell out why it matters: Murdoch owns many media outlets. Some of them — notably, The Wall Street Journal — have criticized Trump at various times, including in the first few months of Trump 2.0. And Trump definitely sees some of that coverage (check out this photo of Trump reading Murdoch’s New York Post over the weekend.)
But the Murdoch outlet that matters the most to Trump, by far, is Fox News.
He not only inhales Fox coverage but also has staffed his administrations with Fox hosts and people he watches on Fox. Which is one reason Pete Hegseth is now the secretary of defense. It’s also why people who want to get in front of Trump get themselves booked on shows like “Fox & Friends,” which is what the Meta executive Joel Kaplan did in January, to announce the company’s pivot to Trump-friendly policies.
And generally, people on Fox say things about Trump that Trump likes to hear. (A notable exception: When Trump complained that the 2020 election had been “stolen” from him, Fox initially resisted that narrative, prompting Trump to pump up would-be Fox rivals like Newsmax, which embraced Trump’s made-up story. Fox quickly pivoted back to Trump’s narrative — which ended up costing the network nearly $800 million in a defamation suit.)
So it’s notable to see any Trump pushback on Fox networks, period. After the markets swooned following Trump’s tariff announcements last week, Fox generally supported the moves, or ignored them.
But on Wednesday, when I saw Fox questioning Trump’s tariff war twice in one morning? It made me think there’s a there there.
What effect did it have? Good question.
After consuming the Dimon interview Wednesday morning, Trump focused on (what he thought) was the upside of the chat: “‘Fixing Trade and Tariffs is a good thing!’ Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase, Chairman & CEO, on Maria B Show!” he posted on Truth Social.
But a few hours after that, Trump announced that he was going to keep tariffs on China but pause them everywhere else, sending the markets soaring.
You can imagine a lot of reasons Trump may have changed his mind — most notably, a series of deeply negative indicators suggesting a freaked-out investor class. And there’s no telling where any of this goes next. The thing I’m most sure about: He’s going to keep watching Fox.
