"You shouldn't play negative ads": Trump brags about plan to beg Murdoch for interference

The ex-president admitted the News Corp boss might not be "thrilled" about his publicizing their upcoming meeting

By Griffin Eckstein

News Fellow

Published October 18, 2024 7:06PM (EDT)

Donald Trump | Fox News logo (Photo illustration by Salon/Alex Wong/Getty Images/Fox News/Salon)
Donald Trump | Fox News logo (Photo illustration by Salon/Alex Wong/Getty Images/Fox News/Salon)

Former President Donald Trump told the hosts of “Fox and Friends” that he planned to beg their boss for help in defeating Kamala Harris.

In a Friday morning sit-down with the talk show, Trump said he was on his way to a “very big event,” a meeting with the News Corp owner to make an important ask. 

“I don’t know if he’s thrilled that I say it. And I’m going to tell him, I’m gonna tell him something very simple because I can’t talk to anybody else about it: Don’t put on negative commercials for 21 days,” Trump said, as hosts awkwardly laughed off the demand.

Earlier in the segment, Trump reminisced about a golden age, noting that “in the old days, you [Fox] never played negative ads.”

“For 19 days, I don’t think we should do that anymore. I think you shouldn’t play negative ads,” Trump told the “Fox and Friends” hosts.

The campaign ad axing wasn’t the only demand Trump planned to bring to Murdoch. He also vented about Democratic on-air talent and Harris campaign surrogates taking up the airwaves that should be reserved for his sycophants.

“Don’t put on their horrible people—they come and lie. I’m going to say, ‘Rupert, please do it this way,’” Trump said.

The demands comes as Harris outspends Trump on ads in key swing states, driven by a massive fundraising advantage. The Harris campaign has drawn in a billion dollars since she joined the ticket.

Fox News recently aired a primetime interview with Vice President Harris, drawing the network’s largest ratings in months and angering Trump. Ahead of the interview, he said Fox News had “lost its way.” 


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