James Murdoch, the CEO of 21st Century Fox, slammed Trump’s equivocating response to the Charlotteville violence in a letter to staff on Thursday.
Murdoch, who is also the son of Fox founder Rupert Murdoch – a long-time friend and ally of Trump – appeared to take umbrage with Trump’s claim that there were ‘very good people’ among the neo-Nazis that marched in the Virginia city.
‘Charlottesville and the reaction to it by the President of the United States concern[s] all of us as Americans and free people,’ he wrote, in part, according to a copy of the email obtained by The New York Times.
‘I can’t even believe I have to write this: standing up to Nazis is essential; there are no good Nazis. Or Klansmen, or terrorists.’
![Fox CEO James Murdoch slammed Donald Trump in an email to colleagues, saying 'Charlottesville and the reaction to it by the President... concern[s] all of us'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/08/18/04/4358022200000578-0-image-a-1_1503027366574.jpg)
Fox CEO James Murdoch slammed Donald Trump in an email to colleagues, saying ‘Charlottesville and the reaction to it by the President… concern[s] all of us’
Murodch said that contrary to Trump’s own remarks on Tuesday, ‘there are no good Nazis. Or Klansmen, or terrorists.’ His dad, Rupert Murdoch, founded Fox and is close friends with Trump
Murdoch prefaced his email by saying that he wasn’t given to political comments, but that Trump’s remarks had tipped his hand.
‘The presence of hate in our society was appallingly laid bare as we watched swastikas brandished on the streets of Charlottesville and acts of brutal terrorism and violence perpetrated by a racist mob,’ he wrote.
‘Democrats, Republicans, and others must all agree [that there are no good Nazis],’ he added, ‘and it compromises nothing for them to do so.’
He called for his audience to take part in the ‘eternal obligation’ to be vigilant against hatred and bigotry, calling it ‘a necessary discipline for the preservation of our way of life and our ideals.’
He concluded: ‘To further demonstrate our commitment, Kathryn and I are donating 1 million dollars to the Anti-Defamation League, and I encourage you to give what you think is right as well.
‘We hardly ever talk about our charitable giving, but in this case I wanted to tell you and encourage you to be generous too.’
Trump blamed both white supremacists and antifascists after a neo-Nazi drove into a crowd of liberal protesters in Charlottesville on Saturday, killing a woman and injuring 19 others
On Friday, white supremacists (pictured) marched on UVA while wielding torches and chanting antisemitic slogans, and allegedly beat up students on the campus
Murdoch’s vociferous opposition to Trump’s remarks is surprising, given his father’s closeness to the president and the broadly pro-Trump tenor of their flagship news channel.
Although he’s not completely alone at Fox. In the immediate aftermath of Trump’s remarks on Tuesday, Fox Specialists host Kat Timpf was visibly upset.
‘I’m wondering if it’s actually real life what I just watched,’ she said.
‘It shouldn’t be some bold statement to say a gathering full of white supremacist Nazis doesn’t have good people in it. Those are all bad people. Period.’
‘And the fact that it’s controversial – I don’t know if I should just laugh… I have too much eye makeup on to start crying right now. It’s disgusting.’
Juan Williams and Charles Krauthammer were among the other Fox hosts who slammed the president.
But Fox’s biggest pundits came out swinging in defense of the president, with Sean Hannity saying that Trump was ‘right’ when he told the press he had wanted to wait for the facts to roll in before condemning KKK members and neo-Nazis.
Trump said on Tuesday that there were ‘very fine people’ among the Friday crowd, which reportedly chanted ‘Jews will not replace us’
On Saturday, the white supremacist groups came armed with shields – some adorned with Celtic crosses, a symbol used by white power groups – and batons
‘Now President Trump, when you think about it, was right,’ Hannity said, ‘and we need to learn from the mistakes of Barack Obama.
‘Nobody, especially the President of the United States, should ever rush to judgment and make a situation worse.’
Tucker Carlson, meanwhile, offered up a confused commentary in which he said slavery was evil, but also common in the old world, pointing out that ‘Plato, Muhammad and the Aztecs’ all had slaves.
He also mirrored Trump’s other comments by likening the the antifascist groups to neo-Nazis, saying: ‘They seem every bit as race-obsessed and angry as the people they’re fighting. But no one acknowledges that for some reason.’
In the aftermath of the Charlottesville violence, there has been renewed call for the removal of Confederate statues across the US, with several having been spontaneously taken down overnight.
Trump himself has sparked further ire by comparing statues of Robert E Lee and ‘Stonewall’ Jackson to those of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.