President Donald Trump praised Rupert Murdoch in a birthday video over the weekend, calling the media billionaire “legendary” and “one of a kind.”
This came as he continues to pursue a $10 billion lawsuit against Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal. The tribute was shown at Murdoch’s 95th birthday celebration in New York, where Trump did not attend.
The video message was played Saturday night at The Grill in Manhattan, according to event reports. Fox News anchor Bret Baier introduced Trump’s remarks. In the video, Trump also credited Murdoch with “courage, vision, and determination,” saying he had “changed the world” throughout his long media career. Murdoch’s birthday is on March 11. The party included Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, as well as other figures from politics, business, and entertainment.
Trump’s warm praise contrasted sharply with the legal battle he launched last year against Murdoch, News Corp, Dow Jones, and the Wall Street Journal. The lawsuit followed a July 2025 Journal report about an alleged birthday message Trump sent to Jeffrey Epstein for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003. The article claimed the note was part of a birthday album compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell. Trump denied writing the message and filed a suit seeking at least $10 billion in damages.
According to Reuters, Trump’s complaint stated that the alleged greeting was “fake” and argued that the Journal published the article to harm his reputation. The lawsuit also noted that the article did not clarify whether the defendants had obtained or seen the letter, or how they verified it. To win the case, Trump would need to demonstrate actual malice, which is the legal standard in U.S. defamation cases involving public figures.
🚨WSJ PUBLISHES THE BIRTHDAY LETTER TRUMP ALLEGEDLY SENT EPSTEIN pic.twitter.com/wuATSmVf6D
— Coffeezilla (@coffeebreak_YT) September 8, 2025
Trump made it clear that he wanted Murdoch directly involved in the lawsuit. In a Truth Social post referenced by The Daily Beast, Trump wrote, “I look forward to getting Rupert Murdoch to testify in my lawsuit against him and his ‘pile of garbage’ newspaper, the WSJ. That will be an interesting experience!”
The Wall Street Journal later published images related to the disputed report, including what it called a lewd drawing and a typed note ending with the line, “May every day be another wonderful secret,” which it said bore what appeared to be Trump’s signature. The article claimed the message dated back to a time when Trump and Epstein were still socially close, before Epstein’s first criminal case. Both Trump and the White House denied the message’s existence.
Dow Jones has stood by its reporting. A spokesperson stated after the lawsuit was filed, “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”
Murdoch’s birthday celebration became the latest reminder of the unusual relationship between the two men. Their relationship has developed over years of political alignment, personal access, and occasional public disagreements. On Saturday night, at least for a few minutes, Trump put aside the courtroom fight and offered a heartfelt tribute to the same mogul he is trying to involve in a defamation case worth billions.
