Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch who has pushed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s national profile through his media empire has reportedly lost confidence in DeSantis’s ability to defeat President Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican primary.
According to a report from Rolling Stone, one Fox News insider said that Rupert and his son Lachlan Murdoch “are transactional and can smell a loser a mile away.”
A senior Fox source also said Murdoch’s “understandable worry is that we may end up being stuck with Trump anyway.”
“And DeSantis is underperforming. Anybody can see that … [and the Murdochs], they’re seeing it, too,” the source added.
The outlet spoke with two individuals close to the Murdochs, three well-placed sources at Fox, and three others briefed on the situation who spoke with conditions of anonymity.
The concerns Murdoch has over DeSantis’s ability to defeat Trump has become evident in recent Fox News coverage and editorial board articles.
The growing pressure on DeSantis from these outlets is “not by accident” and “not a coincidence,” according to Rolling Stone, who spoke to the sources.
In a recent interview on Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo,” she highlighted Governor DeSantis’s polls.
“I have to ask you, governor, this: Why do you think, despite those successes, so far, it hasn’t been reflected in your polling for your 2024 run for president of the United States?” Cain asked DeSantis.
“I have to ask you, governor, this: Why do you think, despite those successes, so far, it hasn’t been reflected in your polling for your 2024 run for president of the United States?” Cain asked DeSantis.
“I’m wondering what’s going on with your campaign. There was a lot of optimism about you running for president earlier in the year, but here’s this weekend’s headline from the Politico playbook, “FAILURE TO LAUNCH — Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS’ campaign to topple DONALD TRUMP has stalled.” We are way behind, says a top DeSantis PAC official, sounding the alarm. What happened?” asked Maria Bartiromo.
“Maria, these are narratives. The media does not want me to be the nominee,” DeSantis responded.
“I think that’s very, very clear. Why? Because they know I’ll beat Biden. But even more importantly, they know I will actually deliver on all these things,” DeSantis said.
Breitbart reported:
A June Harvard poll found that Trump led DeSantis by a margin of 67 to 33 percent, a slight decrease for DeSantis from Harvard’s May poll taken before the Florida governor entered the race. Additionally, Trump holds double-digit leads over DeSantis in various states, including, but not limited to, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, New York, and Iowa.
DeSantis’s underwhelming campaign performance thus far has left Murdoch wondering if a “comeback” is possible at this point. Murdoch is also privately frustrated with DeSantis’s culture warrior campaign strategy, one that has attracted criticism for being “too online” to connect with the median voter.
“According to two of the sources, Murdoch has privately winced at DeSantis’ nonstop cultural-grievance strategy, arguing that it is being executed sloppily,” Rolling Stone reported.
This was evident in a DeSantis’s campaign video attacking Trump for his commitment to “protect” LGBTQ+ Americans in the aftermath of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, which critics said ventured into “homophobic territory.”
It’s not just the Murdochs who have concerns about DeSantis’s ability to dethrone Trump,
Steve Cortes, who advises the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down, admitted the DeSantis campaign faces an “uphill battle” in the GOP primary.
“Right now in national polling, we are way behind, I’ll be the first to admit that,” Cortes noted before recognizing that “Donald Trump is the runaway frontrunner.”
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You lost me at Rolling Stone….What a hit piece. An anonymous source told me RS is going out of b******s….
DeSantis Is Paul Ryan’s beetch.
I will always stand with President Donald Trump!
Ok. I would never vote for someone for president who stabbed the man who got him the governorship, in the back. That shows a shocking lack of integrity. That’s the real reason his campaign is stalling. People are waking up to that fact. He’s too young, hasn’t got anywhere enough money, and doesn’t have the maturity to recognize that. Time to cut bait and support a proven winner. Doesn’t matter if you like Trump or not. Would you prefer 4 more disastrous years of Biden?