Conservative media outlets owned by Rupert Murdoch are shifting their messaging concerning President Donald Trump, including appealing him to preserve his legacy and show a sense of "grace" if he loses to Democrat challenger Joe Biden.
The messages are coming from Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post, and include editorials and pleas from some Fox News sources and anchors who appear to be warning viewers and readers that the president may have lost his reelection bid, reports The Guardian.
Laura Ingraham, a Fox News host who has been close to Trump since she spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention, has appealed to Trump to accept a defeat with "grace and composure."
"Now losing, especially when you believe the process wasn’t fair, it’s a gut punch," Ingraham said Friday night on air. "I'm not conceding anything tonight, by the way. But losing, if that’s what happens – it’s awful. But President Trump’s legacy will only become more significant if he focuses on moving the country forward.”
The Wall Street Journal, in an opinion piece, noted that Trump has the right to fight about the election in court, "but he needs evidence to prove voter fraud."
“Mr. Trump’s legacy will be diminished greatly if his final act is a bitter refusal to accept a legitimate defeat,” the paper's editors say, pointing out that Biden is leading "in enough states to win the presidency" and will be the nation's next leader if the votes survive legal challenges.
And at the New York Post, which in recent weeks posted a series of stories concerning Biden's son Hunter, has produced a front-page all but proclaiming a win for Biden.
Further, the New York Times reports, citing anonymous sources, that Post editors have told staff members to be "tougher in their coverage" of Trump and his claims.
At Fox News, anchors and correspondents are showing less patience with the claims from Trump and his surrogates about voter fraud, including with anchors Brett Baier and Martha MacCallum on Friday pressing guests to provide proof.
Yet another correspondent on Friday repeated "it's not true, it's just not true" concerning claims from the Trump campaign that Republican observers were not allowed to be near vote-counting in Philadelphia.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.