Newly disclosed legal documents have exposed the significant internal friction between Fox News leadership and former President Donald Trump during the critical period surrounding the 2020 presidential election.
According to the records, Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch issued a directive in October 2020 that Trump would not be permitted to appear on the network if he used the platform to attack Fox News. “The president is not coming back on air if he uses it to attack us,” Murdoch stated in a text exchange that included his father Rupert Murdoch and Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott.
The relationship deteriorated further following the election outcome. Internal communications show Fox executives grappling with substantial viewer backlash after the network projected Joe Biden as the winner in Arizona. Anchor Sean Hannity acknowledged the growing animosity, noting that “Trump people hate Fox” in a message to a producer.
The documents reveal executives were deeply concerned about audience numbers. Rupert Murdoch described the network as “getting killed in audience numbers” in a November 2020 email to his son, adding that the situation was “keeping me awake at night.”
In January 2021 communications, Rupert Murdoch referenced criticism that Fox News had “encouraged stolen election bullshit and pushed Jan 6 rally.” During this period, he advocated for removing host Lou Dobbs from programming, suggesting to “just take him off the air and negotiate later.” Dobbs’ show was subsequently cancelled the following month.
The released materials include deposition transcripts where Rupert Murdoch acknowledged that Fox News made a strategic decision to “pivot” after the election by “moving away from our support of Trump,” though he noted the difficulty given the network’s predominantly pro-Trump audience.
The documents emerged as part of ongoing litigation between Fox News and voting technology company Smartmatic. A Fox News spokesperson maintained that the network properly reported newsworthy claims while denying any endorsement of election fraud allegations. The case is proceeding toward potential summary judgment arguments next month.
