He's going to 'crash and burn': Rupert Murdoch has written off Trump's chances for November

On Thursday, in an article describing the longtime secret romantic relationship between Fox News personalities Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt, Vanity Fair reported that international right-wing media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has reportedly resigned himself to President Donald Trump losing re-election in November.

"As Donald Trump’s poll numbers slide, Hannity’s and Earhardt’s loyalty is increasingly valuable, especially since, at the corporate level, confidence in Trump is waning," reported Gabriel Sherman. "Two sources said Rupert Murdoch has recently told people that he believes Trump is going to lose in November. 'Rupert thinks Trump is going to crash and burn. It’s a clear-eyed assessment, just based on just looking at the news,' said a person who has spoken with Murdoch about the election."

Murdoch, a billionaire who has invested heavily in building and acquiring right-wing media outlets in multiple countries, was initially opposed to Trump's candidacy but came around to supporting him during the 2016 election. For the most part, his network has since covered the Trump presidency favorably, although there have been specific Fox anchors who consistently called out the president, enraging Trump.

In recent months, the president has publicly signaled he no longer believes Fox News is sufficiently loyal to him, instead favoring upstart far-right cable network OANN.