New York Post applauded for ‘Florida man’ coverage of Trump’s 2024 announcement

The paper’s owner reportedly made it clear the former president would seek a second term without his support

Donald Trump is running for another shot at the presidency in 2024, but you may not have known that if you read the latest edition of the New York Post.

At a time when media companies could choose to use the former president’s foray back into electoral politics as a money faucet, the New York Post barely even mentioned Mr Trump’s return.

On Wednesday morning, the paper included a thin blue banner along the bottom of its front page teasing that "Florida Man Makes Announcement" — all the way back on page 26.

Even if readers digs into the post and scan page 26, it’s possible to miss the little text box containing the story of Mr Trump’s announcement.

"With just 720 days to go before the next election, a Florida retiree made the surprise announcement that he was running for president," the story begins.

The rest of the snippet — titled “Been there, Don that” — downplays and dismisses the former president’s aspirations.

Mr Trump is referred to as an "avid golfer" and his Mar-a-Lago estate as his "classified documents library," in the piece, and the authors make note that, if elected, he would tie Mr Biden as the oldest president in US history.

The snarky, dismissive storycomes just days after it was reported that the owner of Fox News/News Corp, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post, Rupert Murdoch, reportedly urged Mr Trump not to run again in 2024.

According to iNews UK, Mr Murdoch made it clear to Mr Trump that the former reality game show host would not have the expansive News Corp media empire propping up his election bid this time around.

“We have been clear with Donald. There have been conversations between them during which Rupert made it clear to Donald that we cannot back another run for the White House,” a senior News Corp official reportedly told the paper.

While it’s unclear if the New York Post story is a taste of its Trump coverage going forward or just a special one-shot meant to deflate his announcement, it clearly entertained the former president’s critics on Twitter.

"And so, with four brief paragraphs on page 26, New York Post breaks the news about a perennial candidate’s third try, with cholesterol levels ‘unknown,’" historian and author Michael Beschloss wrote.

Another account using the handle "NumbersMuncher" claimed that the paper "neutered the Trump presidential announcement in the most savage way imaginable."

Others were sceptical that Mr Murdoch’s properties had truly abandoned the former president. One user going by the handle "jessespector" said it was "gonna be hilarious when the same New York Post serves as the Florida man’s campaign newsletter through the summer and fall of 2024."

Thus far, the New York Post’s online offerings have taken the same tack as its print product, with stories calling the former president’s announcement "low energy" and "bruised," as well as claiming it was "ignored, downplayed" on cable networks.