The GOP establishment has now picked its ticket. And Trump’s not on it. Not even close. You can thank Rupert Murdoch, the godfather of Fox and the Wall St. Journal. Not that Murdoch alone decided, but he put out the contract on Trump.

So dear Trumpers, you were right, the Republican establishment is not lettin’ you—or your kind—in. But I must say, you are pretty naive blaming it on Megyn Kelly. You think she sets Fox policy? Really? On July 12, Murdoch tweeted “Trump Wrong, … immigrants have much lower crime rates.” On July 18, “Trump … embarrassing the whole country.” By the 19th he was running anti-Trump stories in his New York Post and Wall St. Journal.

But Murdoch was having trouble with Fox News CEO Roger Ailes. However, after the debate Ailes told the Times he merely encouraged his moderators to be tough but fair. Then he explained “the right assumes I’m going to do a certain thing and I don’t necessarily do what anybody assumes. This is an example of that.” What he did, of course, was to carry out Murdoch’s hit. Trump will hang on for a while, but Murdoch’s WSJ has already declared him dead (also here). (See next post for the GOP’s ticket.)