Conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch appears is a fan of retired neurosurgeon and presidential contender Ben Carson.
The founder and chairman of the News Corp. media conglomerate tweeted Wednesday that Ben Carson’s surge in the latest Iowa poll shows that America is a “land of hope versus fear.”
“Latest Iowa poll has Carson level with Trump. America land of hope versus fear,” Murdoch tweeted, referring to a Monmouth University poll released Tuesday that showed Carson tying GOP frontrunner Donald Trump at 23%.
That tweet came two days after Murdoch also tweeted that Carson’s surging poll numbers reveal that “character DOES count. His life story should make every American optimistic.”
And as Carson first rose to a close second to Trump in an Iowa poll this weekend, Murdoch called the news “terrific” for the retired neurosurgeon.
Murdoch’s glowing comments of Carson mark a departure from Murdoch’s previous comments about Carson, whose presidential candidacy is the first time he’s run for office.
Murdoch previously called Carson a “political naif” in March as Carson left Fox News — which is part of News Corp. — to seriously consider a presidential run.
“Wonderful character, up from Detroit ghetto, sadly seems political naif,” Murdoch tweeted then.
The media magnate has previously slammed Trump’s candidacy, hitting Trump for his comments about undocumented immigrants and his views on illegal immigration.
As Trump churned controversy in July, Murdoch tweeted that Trump was “embarrassing” the country.
Murdoch is supportive of a comprehensive immigration reform plan that stands starkly at odds with Trump’s vision of deporting the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. and building a massive wall between the U.S. and Mexico.