Murdoch-Trump rift opens over Epstein – but don’t expect a decisive break

The president has threatened to sue the 94-year-old media mogul over a Wall Street Journal story but their relationship has survived previous tensions

Threats to sue. Angry calls to editors. Public denunciations. In the wake of the Wall Street Journal's story claiming Donald Trump contributed to a bawdy" letter to the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein - featuring a drawing of a naked woman's silhouette around a typewritten personal message - the president's relationship with the outlet's proprietor, Rupert Murdoch, appears on the surface to have deteriorated from temperamental to terminal.

Just a few days ago, the 94-year-old mogul was spotted among the president's high-profile guests at the Fifa Club World Cup final. Following the publication of the article, however, Murdoch now finds himself on the president's lengthy list of media opponents threatened with court action.