Former President Donald Trump threw napalm on the wildfire that is his relationship with Fox News, saying Wednesday the cable network can never be trusted, especially with former Speaker Paul Ryan on the board of directors of its parent company, Fox Corp.
"Nobody can ever trust Fox News, and I am one of them, with the weak and ineffective RINO, Paul Ryan, on its Board of Directors," Trump wrote a post on Truth Social. "He's a total lightweight, a failed and pathetic Speaker of the House, and a very disloyal person."
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The presumptive Republican presidential nominee urged Rupert Murdoch, the founder of Fox Corp. and chair emeritus of its board, and his son Lachlan Murdoch, the CEO and board chair, to "get that dog off your board."
Trump and Fox News have been at odds since the network’s early call for Joe Biden winning Arizona in the 2020 election. The relationship was further strained after the events of Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol and when Fox appeared to back Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' challenge to Trump for this year's Republican presidential nomination.
Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice-presidential candidate under Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, declined in 2018 to run for reelection in Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District.
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"Romney was bad, but Paul Ryan made him look worse," Trump wrote. "As a team, they never had a chance. Rupert and Lachlan, get that dog off your Board — You don't need him. ALL YOU NEED IS TRUMP. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Trump's remarks came a week after Ryan, in an interview on Fox News, said Trump was unfit for the presidency and that he wasn't going to vote for the former president in November, partly because of the events of Jan. 6. Ryan also said he's not voting for President Joe Biden, either.
"I think it really just is character at the end of the day," Ryan said. "And the fact that if you're willing to put yourself above the Constitution — an oath you swear when you take office, federal office, whether it's president or a member of Congress, you swear an oath to the Constitution — and if you're willing to suborn it to yourself, I think that makes you unfit for office."
Ryan's comments prompted a reprimand from Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and a Trump supporter.
"Paul Ryan, you're a piece of garbage. You're a piece of garbage," Nehls said, according to a transcript of his comments that aired June 12 on "CNN This Morning." "And we should kick you out of the party. For Paul Ryan to say he's not voting for Donald Trump, that's the problem with some of our Republicans. It's guys like that.
"Don't go spouting your mouth off and saying you're a conservative. You spit in the face of the leader of our party, Donald Trump. I mean, grow up a little bit."
This is not the first time Trump has called on the Murdochs to fire Ryan. He did the same in a May 9 post on Truth Social after Ryan questioned Trump's character during a roundtable discussion May 8 at the Milken Institute Global Conference, when he said, according to Poynter: "Character is too important to me. And it's a job that requires the kind of character that he just doesn't have."
Wrote Trump: “Rupert Murdoch should fire pathetic RINO Paul Ryan from the Board of Fox. Ryan is a loser, always has been, and always will be. He was the WEAKEST & MOST INCOMPETENT Speaker of the House in its History. Fox will sink to the absolute bottom of the pack if Paul Ryan has anything to do with it!"
Newsmax reached out to Fox News and Ryan for comment.
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