Fox News media correspondent Howard Kurtz said Sunday that he could confirm a report from The New York Times that Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, had called Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch to complain about the network’s decision to call Arizona for former Vice President Joe Biden (D).
The call reportedly sparked major ire in President Trump’s reelection camp and resulted in a phone call between Kushner and Murdoch.
“I can confirm that Jared Kushner called Rupert Murdoch to complain about the Arizona call, which seemed crucial at the time,” Kurtz told his viewers on Sunday’s “MediaBuzz,” according to Mediaite.
Trump’s campaign unloaded on the head of Fox’s Decision Desk, Arnon Mishkin, following the early Arizona call on the campaign’s website Thursday in a statement describing him as a “[Hillary] Clinton-voting, Biden-donating Democrat.”
Biden was projected as the winner of the 2020 election on Saturday by major news networks including Fox after taking a substantial lead in Pennsylvania. He also leads in Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.
A number of news organizations have projected him as the winner of Arizona.
Trump has so far refused to concede to Biden and vowed legal challenges in several states as mail-in ballots continue to be counted.