Ron DeSantis has heaped lavish praise on Tucker Carlson following his firing by Fox News, calling the right-wing host a “fantastic individual”.
Carlson exited Rupert Murdoch’s news channel days after the company settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5m over election lies pushed by its hosts.
The Florida governor, who is expected to run against Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential nomination, told Newsmax that Carlson’s departure from Fox News was “terrible.”
“Tucker Carlson is a fantastic individual. His show was fantastic and I think it was terrible that he was fired,” said Mr DeSantis on Friday.
“I think there is more to it, I don’t think it was really about Tucker, I think it is about some of this other stuff that is going on with Fox. He was someone who was willing to speak out and challenge the prevailing orthodoxies.”
And he added: “He is talented, he is funny and it was a great show.”
Mr DeSantis is not alone in his praise for Carlson, a conspiracy theorist who has been accused of pushing a white nationalist agenda.
Mr Trump has also defended Carlson, who in private text messages wrote of his “hate” for the one-term president.
“Tucker was insightful, interesting, and ratings gold,” Mr Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “He will be greatly missed.”
And Mr Trump also told Newsmax of his surprise at learning of the firing.
“I’m shocked,” Mr Trump said. “I’m surprised. He’s a very good person and very good man. And very talented, as you know, he had very high ratings. So, we’re just learning about it almost as we speak ... that was something, that’s a big one.”
