The powerful Murdoch family headed has reportedly begun to waver on its support of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Republican presidential primary.
Anonymous sources told Rolling Stone that the Murdochs have become frustrated with DeSantis' poor polling and campaign blunders, as well as his inability to oust former President Donald Trump as the top GOP candidate. The family, which controls Fox News, The New York Post and The Wall Street Journal, had shifted away from Trump following his baseless crusade to overturn his election loss and his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
"[Rupert's] understandable worry is that we may end up being stuck with Trump anyway," a senior Fox source told Rolling Stone. "And DeSantis is underperforming. Anybody can see that … [and the Murdochs], they're seeing it, too."
Two sources added that Murdoch feels DeSantis' relentless culture wars, aimed at outdoing Trump's own efforts, have not been conducted cleanly. Most recently, DeSantis was slammed for a bizarre campaign video that utilized footage from British mob drama "Peaky Blinders" to condemn the LGBTQ+ community, a group DeSantis has particularly targeted through various legislative initiatives. The show's cast and crew shared a statement to clarify they "strongly disapprove" of the video.
"They are transactional and can smell a loser a mile away," one inside Fox source said of Murdoch and his eldest son, Lachlan. Other sources confided in Rolling Stone that Murdoch finds DeSantis' public persona to be awkward, which renders him unable to forge important relationships with voters. DeSantis has also not made good on his claims of being able to swiftly undermine Trump's popularity.
Rolling Stone reported that recent mentions of DeSantis in Murdoch outlets have been largely unfavorable, perhaps indicative of further discontent with the Florida governor. The Wall Street Journal's editorial board recently criticized DeSantis' latest anti-immigration bill, warning that it will "exacerbate the state's labor shortage while doing nothing to fix Biden's border failures." As The New York Times reported, nearly ten years ago, Murdoch asked federal officials to prioritize immigration reform.
The New York Post, known for disseminating sensationalized media stories, published a piece questioning "DeSantis' Odd Choices," covered his lackluster poll numbers, and accused the governor of being "too online" in his onslaught of culture-warrior escapades.
And during recent appearances on Fox News, DeSantis fielded tough questions from anchors Will Cain and Maria Bartiromo regarding his fumbling campaign. In response to Cain, DeSantis said his campaign had only "just started."
"I think if you look at all these people that are responsible for a lot of the ills in our society, they're targeting me as the person they don't want to see as the candidate," DeSantis said.
Cain acknowledged that, while he felt DeSantis had "done a wonderful job" as governor, "there are those that say there's something about you that's not connecting, for whatever reason, not connecting with the voter."
Bartiromo pressed DeSantis about "what's going on" with his campaign. "There was a lot of optimism about you running for president earlier in the year," she said.
"Maria, these are narratives," DeSantis replied. "The media does not want me to be the nominee."
Despite his perceived inadequacies, the Murdochs are not prepared to abandon DeSantis just yet, according to Rolling Stone's sources. As it stands, DeSantis remains Trump's top challenger, and leaving him behind would mean returning to MAGA-world.
"Ron DeSantis was built up as the Trump-slayer. So if he's not immediately leading Trump in the polls, it's easy to see how that can easily be spun as a let-down," says Doug Heye, a former communications director at the Republican National Committee. "There are a lot of people who are trying to write the obituary of a well-funded and popular figure in the party before the debates have even started. Ron was the designated dragon-slayer — and because he hasn't slayed the dragon before the debates have begun, he's being portrayed as a failure. And I think it's too early for that."
