NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Rupert Murdoch, who founded the News Corp. media empire that includes Fox News Channel, apologized on Thursday for a Twitter message suggesting that President Barack Obama isn\u2019t a \u201creal black president.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murdoch praised Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson and his wife as terrific in a tweet Wednesday, adding, \u201cwhat about a real black President who can properly address the racial divide?\u201d In a separate message, he encouraged people to read a New York magazine article about disappointment among some blacks about the president.<\/p>\n
Following a backlash, Murdoch tweeted Thursday: \u201cApologies! No offence meant. Personally find both men charming.\u201d<\/p>\n
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said he didn\u2019t know whether Obama was aware of the tweet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did note that Mr. Murdoch tweeted an apology this morning. I also noted that a Fox corporate spokesperson was asked about this and said something like \u2018I\u2019m not going to quote on Mr. Murdoch\u2019s tweets.\u2019 And I\u2019m not going to either,\u201d Earnest said Thursday.<\/p>\n
Carson, interviewed on CNN, said he considered the controversy \u201cmuch ado about nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know Rupert Murdoch,\u201d Carson said. \u201cHe\u2019s not a racist by any state of the imagination. He\u2019s just expressing his opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked by CNN\u2019s Wolf Blitzer whether he considered Obama a real black president, Carson replied, \u201cWell, he\u2019s the president, and he\u2019s black.\u201d Pressed again, Carson said it was an issue of semantics. \u201cI\u2019m the last person who wants to deal with semantics and political correctness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Obama aide and current CNN commentator Van Jones, said on that network that he found Murdoch\u2019s tweet \u201coutrageous and disgusting,\u201d and said that Fox News had done more to undermine Obama than any news organization had ever done for a president.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis president has done everything he could do in the face of Rupert Murdoch,\u201d Jones said. \u201cIf Rupert Murdoch cares about black people, he should tell the people at Fox News he does so, because you can\u2019t get that from watching Fox News.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fox had no immediate comment.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP White House reporter Darlene Superville contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"