By Sheryl Estrada
From Twitter
Rupert Murdoch set the Twittersphere ablaze Wednesday night when he posted tweets praising Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson and his wife, Candy, and asserted President Obama isn’t a “real black President.”
Ben and Candy Carson terrific. What about a real black President who can properly address the racial divide And much else.
Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) October 8, 2015
#RupertMurdoch began to trend on Twitter:
Wow!! I had no idea that Rupert Murdock knows what a “Real” black president is!! #WhitePrivilege
Mike Walrond (@MikeWalrond) October 8, 2015
While Rupert Murdoch questions whether Barack Obama really black, rest of us question whether Rupert Murdock is really sane
David Samples (@NatureGuy101) October 8, 2015
Fox news and Rupert Murdock have launched their ‘Obama’s not as black as Carson’ campaign. I suppose Rupert got tired of Donald not playing.
thisoldgov.com (@thisoldgov) October 8, 2015
At 9:04 p.m. he tweeted:
Read New York magazine for minority community disappointment with POTUS
Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) October 8, 2015
Murdoch, 84, is the founder and owner of Fox News Channel and executive chairman of News Corp, a global media company, which owns a large portfolio of media brands such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post.He is also currently the co-executive chairman of 21st Century Fox.
His tweet is referring to a New York magazine article published Wednesday, which discusses the debate of Black leaders regardingthePresident’s involvement with the Black community.
Murdoch’s rant isn’t the first time President Obama has incurred insults on Twitter.In May, the first tweet he sent from his official Twitter account @POTUS received many racist responses, including calling him the n-word.
It is ironic for the media mogulto bring up “addressing the racial divide” as Fox News, notoriously known for promoting the Republican agenda, often offers news that perpetuates racial polarization.
For example, in March the Fox News show Outnumbered named immigrants as a reason behind the growing number of unmarried couples with babies.
In 2014, Fox News Channel Host Bill O’Reilly called congresswoman U.S. Representative Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who is Black, “a race hustler.” And former host Bob Beckel used the word “Chinamen” when discussing a New York Times article about Chinese hackers.
Carson, a former Fox News contributor, said to a crowd at the 2013 Value Voters summit in Washington, “You know Obamacare is really I think the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery.”
In recent years, Carson has not made a reputation for himself as a champion for Blacks, or even as one with a connection to the Black community. He referred to Michael Brown, who was killed in a police related shooting, as a “bad actor” during a trip to Ferguson, Mo. in September.
Carson is also clearly confounded by the Black Lives Matter movement and fully rejects it, instead of making an attempt to understand it.The movement’s sloganserves as a reminder that Black lives matter in addition to all other lives. Black lives matter “too.”
The presidential candidate recently said, “My beef with the Black Lives Matter movement has been, I think they need to add a word. And that word is ‘All.’ All Black Lives Matter,” he said, and added, “of course all lives matter. When we get off into a little thing that says, ‘No, this is the only thing you can say,’ that’s sickening to me.”
On Sept. 5 Murdoch began comparing Carson and President Obama’s upbringing on Twitter:
2 stories. Carson, Detroit ghetto to brilliant neurosurgeon. Obama white upbringing to community organizer. Sincere men, different values
Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) September 5, 2015
His latest tweet implied Carson would be a “real black President.” Is Murdoch, a white privileged male, suggesting Carson’s”realness” comes from the fact he grew up in a “Detroit ghetto” and not with whites
