Murdoch: ‘I Thought Romney Was A Terrible Candidate’

FILE - In this July 17, 2014 photo, Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of News Corporation, listens to a question during a panel discussion at the B20 meeting of company CEOs in Sydney, Australia. Murdoch’s 21st Ce... FILE - In this July 17, 2014 photo, Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of News Corporation, listens to a question during a panel discussion at the B20 meeting of company CEOs in Sydney, Australia. Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014 said it is abandoning its attempt to take over Time Warner in a proposed deal that would have combined two of the world’s biggest media companies. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool, File) MORE LESS
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News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch hasn’t decided which potential 2016 Republican candidate he’s going to support, but he likes former Gov. Jeb Bush (R) and isn’t so excited about former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Both Romney and Bush have indicated interest in running for president in 2016.

Murdoch, who also owns Fox News, was asked in an interview with Fox News analyst Judith Miller if he had a favorite potential candidate.

“No,” Murdoch said according remarks obtained by Politico. “I like Jeb Bush very much.”

That’s a contrast to how Murdoch feels about Romney, who in recent days has strongly signaled plans to run for president a third time. Murdoch pointed to a Wall Street Journal opinion page editorial criticizing Romney running again.

“I rather agree with the [Wall Street] Journal this morning, which sort of lacerated Romney,” Murdoch said. “He had his chance, he mishandled it, you know? I thought Romney was a terrible candidate.”

The Journal editorial called Romney an uneven candidate in 2012 —he had some strong moments like picking Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) as his vice presidential nominee but also made some mistakes like never laying “out an economic narrative to counter Mr. Obama’s claim that he had saved the country from a GOP Depression and needed more time for his solutions to work.”

“Republicans are likely to have a far better field in 2016, so voters won’t lack for plausible Presidents,” the editorial said. “It’s hard to see what advantages Mr. Romney brings that the many potential first-time candidates who have succeeded as governors do not.”

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