Rupert Murdoch wants Bloomberg to challenge Trump in 2016

The conservative media magnate behind Fox News thinks the Republican primary race has room for one more — specifically, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Rupert Murdoch suggested Sunday night on his personal Twitter account that "it's time" for Bloomberg to "step into the ring." With Donald Trump running, Murdoch thinks that the "next billionaire candidate" would offer voters an alternative to Trump's antics.

Murdoch's high praise of Bloomberg's three terms as mayor of New York City were a sharp contrast to his previous slams of Trump both privately and on Twitter. After Trump's controversial comments mocking Sen. John McCain's war record, for instance, Murdoch tweeted: "When is Donald Trump going to stop embarrassing his friends, let alone the whole country?" Trump has since reportedly smoothed things over with the influential conservative mogul — but apparently not enough.

Bloomberg did not respond to Murdoch's call to run.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up