Ron DeSantis gave a rare in-depth media interview to British newspaper The Times on Wednesday about his potential presidential run, another sign that the Rupert Murdoch media empire may be shifting its support from Donald Trump to the Florida governor.
The piece, titled “Ron DeSantis: is this man the next US president?” features flattering descriptions of the Florida Republican’s “beefy frame” and “firm handshake,” as well as familiar conservative criticisms of the media, universities, and Covid restrictions.
During the conversation, Mr DeSantis was not quoted talking much directly about Mr Trump, who would be his only major rival for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, though he argued the former president should’ve fired public health official Dr Anthony Fauci ““six ways from Sunday”.
Mr DeSantis also stopped short of announcing a presidential run, though seemed open to one during the interview.
“I would always be asked about [running for] president prior to the election and what I would tell people is, look, I’ve got a job to do here,” he said. “I’m running for re-election, because at the end of the day, if you’re going to do something like run for national, you got to have the policy. You got to know what you want to do. But you also have to have a coherent argument as to how you can be successful politically.”
The interview follows a media war of words between Mr Trump and Mr Murdoch, whose news outlets including Fox News are seen as playing an instrumental role in getting the New York billionaire elected in 2016.
As part of a defamation lawsuit regarding Fox’s claims about the 2020 election being fraudulent, Mr Murdoch testified that he would’ve liked to see his top anchors do more to combat the kind of election conspiracies Mr Trump made central to his campaign.
“I would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing it in hindsight,” Mr Murdoch testified.
Following the release of court documents in the suit on Monday, Mr Trump railed against his former ally the following day.
“Why is Rupert Murdoch throwing his anchors under the table, which also happens to be killing his case and infuriating his viewers, who will again be leaving in droves - they already are,” the former president said on Truth Social. “There is MASSIVE evidence of voter fraud & irregularities in the 2020 Presidential Election. Just look at the documentary ‘2000 MULES’ and you will see large scale ballot stuffing caught on government cameras, or votes cast without Legislatures approval, or just recently, the FBI/Twitter Files Scandal. RIGGED!!!”
The relationship between the two men has been souring for months into a barely contained public feud.
In November, the Murdoch-owned New York Post, Donald Trump’s hometown paper, savaged the former president’s announcement to run again in 2024, comparing Mr Trump to Humpty Dumpty and mocking him as a “Florida retiree.”
That same month, News Corp employees said that their publications would no longer support Mr Trump.
“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,” an anonymous News Corp source told the i newspaper.
More recently, members of Mr Trump’s inner circle claimed they had been “soft banned” by Fox News, thanks to a desire from Mr Murdoch to “move on.”
