Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis was effusive in his praise of Tucker Carlson, saying it was "terrible" he was fired, particularly amid Fox News' ratings drop.
"Tucker Carlson is a fantastic individual," DeSantis told Newsmax's John Bachman in an exclusive 24-minute interview that aired on "Eric Bolling The Balance." "I think his show was fantastic.
"I think it's terrible that he was fired. I think there's more to it. I don't think it was about Tucker. I think it's about some of this other stuff that's going on with Fox.
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"The ratings decline was really, really significant," DeSantis said.
"I mean, you understood Tucker's show would" cause Fox News viewers to flee "when he's not there, but it seems like all the other shows have been" taking a hit, too, DeSantis added.
"So whether that is going to mark a shift, a migration away, that's something that could be very good" for American independence from "corporate media," according to DeSantis.
"But, I'll tell you, there's a lot of stuff out there now," he said. "It's very fragmented, but if you could hit a sweet medium there, there's a lot of people that hunger for that type of access."
DeSantis' disdain for "corporate media" is not new, particularly amid myriad battles with leftist ideology in corporate America and media, including ABC-Disney.
"How bad has the national corporate media got with their narratives?" DeSantis asked, adding independent outlets like Newsmax are helping drive competition and choice for viewers. "And you guys push back on it, and Florida, obviously, we push back on it. But it's like one thing to have a liberal bias, it's another thing to ignore facts and put narrative ahead of facts.
"And they do that every day, and that's why trust is at an all-time low with corporate media."
But trust and adoration for Carlson is at an all-time high, even amid the ouster and media attacks, according to DeSantis.
"He was somebody that was willing to speak out and challenge the prevailing orthodoxies — so he's hitting the right issues. And he's talented; he's funny; and it was a great show," DeSantis said. "We're proud because he's a Florida resident, and he loves the state of Florida.
"I guarantee you, whatever he does, he's going to be very successful."
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Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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