Latest news with #MurdochFamily
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Gloves come off in Steve Bannon's war on Fox News after lunch with Trump
Steve Bannon has taken his war on Fox News over their coverage of the Israel-Iran war to another level, suggesting the network be investigated for helping a foreign agent. The long-time Donald Trump ally, who was spotted having lunch with the president Thursday ahead of his strike on Tehran this past weekend, has been ardently against U.S. involvement and even predicted it would begin World War III. Bannon personalized it even more on Sunday, when he blamed the Murdoch family for pushing to go to war. 'People on the right are now confronting an unpleasant reality, a great unmasking: The Murdochs don't put America's interests first,' he told Semafor. 'There needs to be a thorough FARA investigation into Fox's relationship with a foreign power,' he added. The FARA is the Foreign Agents Registration Act, a law that demands public disclosure obligations on persons representing foreign interests. At the same time, Bannon dismissed the network's true influence, saying its 'audience is geriatrics - it's people 70 and over.' He also suggested they were powerless because 'it's not an activist base' being broadcast to. Bannon also made the statement on his War Room show Monday, saying: 'I think we need to see if they represent a foreign government as an agent.' 'What are they pushing on the American people? Where'd this information come from?' he asked. He clarified that while he agrees that Iran should not get a nuclear weapon, that 'there are many paths to do that' that do not involve bombing. 'None of those paths were going on the path to kinetic warfare!' has reached out to a spokesperson for Fox News for comment. Bannon, who served as Trump's chief White House strategist during his first term and continues to be an influential voice in the MAGA movement, referenced the looming attack on his 'War Room Pandemic' podcast hours before U.S. bombers carried out the strike. 'I'm just reporting what I'm hearing from pretty good sources. The party is on,' Bannon said on his podcast. 'So another big weekend in this unfolding aspect of the Third World War – and no, anyone that's telling you that the Third World War is not here, is absolutely, does not understand the development and evolution of kinetic energy,' he said. Hours later, Trump surprised the world a little before 8 p.m. ET Saturday by announcing on Truth Social that he had given the go-ahead to attack Iran. Trump used six massive 30,000-pound 'bunker buster' bombs and 30 Tomahawk missiles to destroy Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. Trump addressed the nation, calling the strikes on a trio of Iranian nuclear sites a 'spectacular military success.' 'Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.' He also gave a stark warning to Tehran that more attacks would be coming if the regime didn't make peace. But his ally Bannon lunched with Trump at the White House on Thursday, and reportedly argued against the U.S. joining in Israel 's attacks on Iran. Bannon connected the dots on his 'party is on' comment, clarifying that it meant the operation was set to go. On Monday, Trump announced that Iran and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire, two weeks after they started exchanging missile strikes and two days after he bombed the Islamic Republic's nuclear labs. The president said the '12 day war' will 'end' in 24 hours, despite both nations warning of future strikes and just hours after Tehran attacked America's largest military base in the Middle East. He announced the ceasefire deal in a Truth Social post, claiming it is set to go into effect into six hours. While Israel and Iran have not confirmed if there is a deal, Trump congratulated everyone involved and said the ceasefire will begin once in-progress missions are completed. Trump broke his silence on Iran's retaliatory strikes on Monday by demanding the end of the conflict in the Middle East and taunting the Ayatollah for his 'very weak response.' The president said on Truth Social that US forces 'effectively countered' Iran's targeting of the Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, two days after he bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. Trump said that no Americans were harmed in Iran's retaliatory strikes on Monday and declared, 'they've got it all out of their system', as he thanked Iran for giving early notice to allow the US to evacuate the base beforehand. 'Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same,' he wrote, before adding in a follow-up post: 'CONGRATULATIONS WORLD, IT'S TIME FOR PEACE!' World leaders quickly condemned Iran's strikes and expressed support to Qatar, which said that it has not ruled out retaliatory strikes of its own against Iran.
The Independent
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Murdochs ‘obsessed' with Succession series because family likeness was ‘uncanny', insider claims
The Murdoch family became 'obsessed' with the TV drama Succession, an insider has claimed, when 'uncanny' similarities were spotted between the show and the clan's real-life. Members of the family are even said to have believed someone from within its ranks had been leaking information to writers of the HBO series, as it imitated reality so closely at times. McKay Coppins, the journalist behind the shocking and rare interview with James Murdoch published earlier this year that revealed what life as Rupert Murdoch's son is really like, made the claims at the Hay Festival in Wales on Tuesday, which The Independent is once again partnering with. When asked by an audience member whether he knew if the family had watched Succession, Mr Coppins said: 'It was one of the very first questions I asked James, actually.' He added: 'As I would eventually learn, the Murdoch family is, actually, obsessed with Succession. 'They're particularly obsessed with who was leaking to the show's writers. They all were convinced that somebody must've been feeding the show's writers stories because there were scenes that were too uncannily true to life. 'James watched the first episode and found it too difficult to watch. Kathryn, his wife, has seen more. Liz, his sister, has watched all of them.' Speaking to Guto Harri, former communications director for Murdoch's News International, at the event, Mr Coppins went on to say the siblings had different beliefs about who was leaking information - with theories ranging from each other to former partners. He said: 'I finally just went to Jesse Armstrong, the creator of the show, and asked him, 'did you have a mole in the Murdoch family?' 'He laughed and said 'no, but I'm aware this has become a psychodrama for the Murdoch family.'' The future of Murdoch's sprawling media empire, which includes Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and UK outlets such as The Sun and The Times, has captivated public attention in recent years. It has provided partial inspiration for the acclaimed drama, which culminates with a right-wing media tycoon's family grappling with the fallout of his death. In an article published in February in The Atlantic, Murdoch's youngest son, James, laid bare remarkable details about the real-life succession drama within the Murdoch family. The article's publication came soon after the patriarch lost his legal battle to ensure his eldest son, the more right-leaning Lachlan, would control the family trust after his death. Hay Festival, which is spread over 11 days, is set in Hay-on-Wye, the idyllic and picturesque 'Town of Books'. The lineup includes Salman Rushdie, Michael Sheen, Jameela Jamil, and more. The Independent has partnered with the festival once again to host a series of morning panels titled The News Review, where our journalists will explore current affairs with leading figures from politics, science, the arts and comedy every morning.
