Murdoch to Kushner on election night: Arizona results "ironclad"

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
28 Jul 2022 15:00

The new book by Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser chronicles the turbulence generated by Fox News' decision to call the state for Biden in 2020.

Murdoch told Kushner on election night; that Arizona results were "ironclad".

Details of the Fox News owner's talk with Trump's son-in-law and key adviser about the call that most observers feel confirmed Trump's defeat will be included in Kushner's biography, Breaking History, set to be released next month.

Rupert Murdoch told Jared Kushner that "the numbers are ironclad - it's not even close" when Fox News called Arizona for Joe Biden on election night 2020, infuriating Donald Trump and driving Republican election disruption attempts that continue to this day.

They also come as Murdoch-owned newspapers and even Fox News appear to be turning against Trump in the aftermath of the US Capitol attack and his attempt to overturn his election setback on January 6.

'Breaking History'

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times reported on the first excerpt from the book, in which Kushner recalled being covertly treated for thyroid cancer.

On Wednesday, another New York Times writer, Kenneth Vogel, tweeted images of pages from Kushner's book, each labeled "confidential".

Kushner's depiction of the shock of the Fox News Arizona call is echoed in several reports and books on Trump's 2020 defeat, his reluctance to recognize it, and the subsequent assault on US democracy.

“The shocking projection brought our momentum to a screeching halt,” Kushner writes. “It instantly changed the mood among our campaign’s leaders, who were scrambling to understand the network’s methodology.”

Kushner explains the Trump campaign's emphasis on Arizona, writing that a loss there "would drastically narrow our route to victory."

According to author Michael Wolff's book Landslide, Murdoch granted his son Lachlan Murdoch authority for Fox News to call Arizona for Biden with "a signature grunt" and a barb for Trump: "F*** him."

Kushner writes: “I dialed Rupert Murdoch and asked why Fox News had made the Arizona call before hundreds of thousands of votes were tallied. Rupert said he would look into the issue, and minutes later he called back.

“‘Sorry Jared, there is nothing I can do,’” he said. “‘The Fox News data authority says the numbers are ironclad – he says it won’t be close.’”

Biden's victory

Biden won Arizona by approximately 10,000 votes, a margin that grew following a politicized audit commissioned by state Republicans and pushed by Trump backers.

Following the election, key members of Fox News' decision desk quit. The political editor, Chris Stirewalt, was sacked. He testified before the committee on January 6.

“We knew [Arizona] would be a consequential call because it was one of five states that really mattered,” Stirewalt testified.

Tea was spilled in the last #Capitol riot hearing, as Cassidy Hutchinson revealed firsthand stories about #Trump's chaotic behavior before, during, and after the riots.#CapitolRiot #CapitolAttack #January6thHearings pic.twitter.com/7ko35ToJRM
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 29, 2022

Stirewalt also stated that Trump's prospects of defeating Biden were "extremely modest" and "becoming decreasing" at the time of the Arizona call. He claimed that after Arizona, his chances were "none."

Biden's election was declared on November 7, when Pennsylvania fell into his column. He won the electoral college by 306-272, the same margin Trump referred to as a landslide when he defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016. Biden received over 7 million votes in the popular vote.

Kushner claims he was called by Karl Rove, the strategist who helped George W Bush win "the closest presidential election in US history" against Al Gore in 2000, in his passage on Trump's speech given in the early hours of November 4, the day after election day, claiming "Frankly, we did win this election."