Has the Fox News shift in preference from former President Donald Trump to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis already started?
A report from MediaMatter.com this morning revealed something remarkable – Fox News mentioned Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis more times than former President Donald Trump last week.
Fox personalities and guests mentioned DeSantis at least 177 times to at least 142 for Trump.
On February 28th, DeSantis released his book, ‘The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Survival’, and then embarked on a tour in order to advertise it. In addition, Florida was also in the headlines because of several bills that aimed to broaden the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation as well as initiatives to reduce the rights of women, trans people, gender-nonconforming individuals, and bloggers.
Fox has also hosted DeSantis seven times since the beginning of the year while Trump hasn’t appeared on Fox News since September 2022.
Look for Fox News to continue to ride the DeSantis bandwagon but don’t expect hosts to say anything that’ll put Trump in a negative light.
Should Trump win the Republican nomination in 2024, Fox News will again milk it as much as it can to retain its audience. However, given the corporation is facing two mega defamation lawsuits, don’t expect Fox to be as over-the-top pro-Trump next time.
