ziggy
Verified User
Rarely does one picture truly tell 1,000 words. But a Fox News segment this week perfectly captured the state of the GOP's 2024 presidential race, in a few short frames.
Why it matters: Rupert Murdoch, the Donald Trump booster turned critic, has turned Fox News into a very friendly platform for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — promoting his unofficial run for president.
The drama: DeSantis, plugging his new book and testing his 2024 message, joined "Fox & Friends" virtually on Tuesday.
As part of the coverage, co-host Brian Kilmeade was working a live audience at the Metro Diner in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. — a suburb of Jacksonville, DeSantis' birthplace.
In 2020, this could've been Sean Hannity teeing up Trump. But things have soured badly between the former president and the most-watched cable news channel.
The climax: Kilmeade roams the diner, asking who people support for 2024.
"Trump," says the first.
"Trump," says the second.
"Trump," says the third ... and fourth ... and fifth ... and sixth.
Finally, Kilmeade finds a woman with a DeSantis T-shirt, and asks her who she backs.
She replies: "Oh, gosh! I don't know. Trump or DeSantis — I'm either/or."
The intrigue: DeSantis used to live within walking distance of the diner — and represented the area when he was in Congress, The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union writes.
The bottom line: While DeSantis has surged to the clear number two in the GOP field, the diner crowd echoed what four recent polls found:
This is Trump's party — and crashing it will be harder than many presume.
https://www.axios.com/2023/03/02/republican-2024-primary-fox-news-desantis-trump
Why it matters: Rupert Murdoch, the Donald Trump booster turned critic, has turned Fox News into a very friendly platform for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — promoting his unofficial run for president.
The drama: DeSantis, plugging his new book and testing his 2024 message, joined "Fox & Friends" virtually on Tuesday.
As part of the coverage, co-host Brian Kilmeade was working a live audience at the Metro Diner in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. — a suburb of Jacksonville, DeSantis' birthplace.
In 2020, this could've been Sean Hannity teeing up Trump. But things have soured badly between the former president and the most-watched cable news channel.
The climax: Kilmeade roams the diner, asking who people support for 2024.
"Trump," says the first.
"Trump," says the second.
"Trump," says the third ... and fourth ... and fifth ... and sixth.
Finally, Kilmeade finds a woman with a DeSantis T-shirt, and asks her who she backs.
She replies: "Oh, gosh! I don't know. Trump or DeSantis — I'm either/or."
The intrigue: DeSantis used to live within walking distance of the diner — and represented the area when he was in Congress, The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union writes.
The bottom line: While DeSantis has surged to the clear number two in the GOP field, the diner crowd echoed what four recent polls found:
This is Trump's party — and crashing it will be harder than many presume.
https://www.axios.com/2023/03/02/republican-2024-primary-fox-news-desantis-trump