A new book alleges President Joe Biden called Fox News co-chairman and News Corporation executive chairman Rupert Murdoch “the most dangerous man in the world” in mid-2021.
Two New York Times reporters, Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns, made the allegation in their new book, “This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future,” which is set to be released in May, CNN reported. The president also allegedly referred to the conservative news network as “one of the most destructive forces in the United States.”
The book reportedly calls Fox a “torrent of anti-Biden programming, stoking skepticism about vaccines and disseminating wild conspiracy theories about the January 6 attack,” according to CNN. The president’s allies and Democrats have criticized Murdoch and his son, Lachlan, for enabling Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson after he claimed that young people do not need the COVID vaccine and raised the issue of “replacement theory.”
Rupert Murdoch is “the most dangerous man in the world”
– @POTUSWe report on Biden’s candid judgment of the News Corp tycoon in THIS WILL NOT PASS https://t.co/4ViJeemDaS@brianstelter with the story 👇https://t.co/3VE96C9cJk
— Alex Burns (@alexburnsNYT) April 3, 2022
While the president has never spoken about the Murdochs publicly, he has sparred with the network’s White House correspondent Peter Doocy, going as far as to call him a “stupid son of a bitch” on a hot mic in January. The president later apologized to Doocy via phone call telling him his comment was “nothing personal.” (RELATED: Biden Says Fox News Has ‘Had An Altar Call’ About Vaccinations)
“He said, ‘it’s nothing personal, pal,’” Doocy told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “I told him that I appreciated him reaching out. Hey, Sean, the world is on the brink of, like, World War III. With all the stuff going on, I appreciate that the president took a couple minutes out this evening while he was still at the desk to give me a call and clear the air, but I don’t need anybody to apologize to me.”
Biden also snapped at Doocy for asking about the specific U.S. response to Russia in the event that they use chemical weapons.