Saturday, November 19, 2022

Report: The Post Takes Aim At Trump


Since Election Day last week, The New York Post’s front pages have been merciless to former President Donald J. Trump. First, the paper heralded his political rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, as “DeFUTURE.” A day later, it illustrated Mr. Trump as Humpty Dumpty about to have a great fall.

Then, reports The NY Times, on Wednesday, the paper relegated Mr. Trump’s announcement about his latest run for president to a small headline at the bottom of the page: “Florida Man Makes Announcement.”

All three covers shot around social media, putting the 221-year-old tabloid at the center of the national discussion about Trump’s future and elevating its print front page from New York City newsstands to Twitter’s global public square.

The covers also had the news media and political worlds talking about whether the recent Trump coverage was another sign that Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, which includes The Post and Fox News among other news organizations, had broken permanently from the former president after supporting him for years.

Trump weighed in himself on his Truth Social site, criticizing “the no longer great New York Post.” He added, “Bring back Col!,” a reference to Col Allan, the paper’s former editor in chief.

“Just like in Australia and the UK, it’s almost impossible for any conservative politician to survive without the blessing of the billionaire Murdoch empire. Trump is toast …,” Thom Hartmann, the liberal radio talk show host, tweeted.

A Post spokeswoman declined to make Keith Poole, the editor in chief, available for an interview. A spokesman for The Post’s parent company, News Corp, which the Murdochs run, declined to comment.

Editors in The Post’s newsroom now regularly hand down anti-Trump story assignments, according to three current staff members. Poole is often involved in editing these stories to make sure the tone is right, said the people, who would speak only anonymously for fear of retribution.

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