Trump News Network: Is the Donald Launching a Media Empire to Take Down Fox?
Golf. Fishing. Creating a 24-hour cable news network in order to decimate the rivals who you think cost you the White House.
There are many activities to which retired people can devote their free time -- and we bet you can't guess which one appeals to our 45th president!
It's kind of a trick question, as you might be tempted to say golf.
But if his presidency taught us anything, it's that Donald Trump doesn't need to be retired to hit the links six days a week.
And the only thing he loves more than stamping his name on things is tearing down his enemies, so you can bet the Trump News Network is coming sooner, rather than later.
Like his first two marriages, Trump's relationship with Fox News started out beautifully but turned very, very ugly with time.
These days, as the president continues to argue that he was robbed of the election in a grand conspiracy, the likes of which the world has never seen, Fox is faced with a difficult decision -- support Trump, or report the news?
Somewhat surprisingly, it seems they've mostly chosen the latter option.
It's yet another reminder that at the end of the day, Rupert Murdoch is more businessman than ideologue.
And these days, Trump is very, very bad for business.
It was one thing for Sean Hannity and company to throw their support behind Trump when he was a 70-something exciting newcomer to the political arena.
It's quite another now that he's past his prime and seems intent on destroying the last vestiges of American democracy as his final act in office.
It's unclear exactly when Trump decided that Fox is no longer on his side, but at this point, the romance is definitely over.
“@FoxNews daytime ratings have completely collapsed. Weekend daytime even WORSE," Trump tweeted earlier this week.
"Very sad to watch this happen, but they forgot what made them successful, what got them there,”
Trump has devoted a good deal of time to praising even more far-right partisan outlets such as OAN in recent weeks.
But it seems that even he's aware that his new favorites are fly-by-night organizations that operate on a shoestring budget.
So it's not surprising that insiders are now claiming the Donald sees himself as the head of a multi-billion dollar media empire.
"He plans to wreck Fox," a source recently told Axios.
"No doubt about it."
Trump has reportedly been a fan of the hyper-partisan Fox business model, which should come as no surprise, given his love of all things combative.
It's even been rumored that Trump ran for president with the goal of laucnhing a news network once he established himself as a political firebrand.
Of course, the Donald overshot his mark and got elected, and that's how we wound up with three miled of useless wall at the Mexican border.
Re-inventing himself as a news magnate would allow Trump to control the narrative surrounding his disastrous four years in office, and it may even enable him to pull himself back from the brink of financial collapse.
And as is the case with all retirees who launch small businesses, if nothing else, it'll get him out of the house.
In this case, we're talking about the White House, so perhaps it's especially important that we encourage this new hobby.
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