Imagine a world without Donald Trump and his mini me, James David Vance, and Rupert Murdoch and his mini me, Lachlan Murdoch.

Can we even imagine that? Especially about the Murdochs?

But after a decade of Trump madness and many decades of the shadow of Murdoch bending our politics, and our lives, it seems that inconceivably, unexpectedly, that’s where we are.

A second Trump victory seemed certain with the senescent Joe Biden hanging on, but Kamala Harris is now energising the Democrats and with Trump’s shortcomings laid bare, he is a good chance to lose.

And in Reno, Nevada, 93-year-old Rupert Murdoch is trying to preserve his control of the company beyond the grave by disenfranchising three of his children – James, Elizabeth and Prudence – and cementing Lachlan’s control, revealed by the New York Times a few days ago.

Rupert and Lachlan could easily lose, in which case the Murdoch empire would flip from right wing to centre left when he dies, back to what The Australian was like under Adrian Deamer when I started work there 54 years ago, before Rupert sacked him a year later.

As things stand, the Murdoch family trust voting structure gives Rupert full control, but when he dies each of the four kids get one equal vote each. Since Lachlan will be outnumbered three to one, Rupert wants to change trust voting rules to give him full control when Rupert’s gone.

He’s called it “Project Harmony”, but it’s anything but harmonious: James, Elizabeth and Prudence are fighting tooth and nail to prevent Lachlan getting control, with a........

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