Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finally broke his silence on the firing of Fox News personality Tucker Carlson on Friday (May 5).
Carlson, who hosted “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Fox News at 8 p.m. ET on weekdays, was abruptly let go by the company on April 24 for reasons that have not yet been officially explained.
Later reports emerged that alleged the surfacing of a racist text message during the discovery phase of the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit prompted the broadcaster’s officials to demand his resignation. Other reports suggested that it was related to a former employee’s lawsuit alleging that Carlson promoted a misogynistic workplace.
Nevertheless, Carlson’s swift departure was celebrated and condemned across party lines, with observers on the left cheering the end of his often-extremist show and those on the right condemning Fox for losing its biggest ratings and most influential voice.
For a while, DeSantis’ voice was not among those discussing Carlson’s firing.
Given the Governor’s prominence in the GOP, his silence seemed remarkable to many, with Donald Trump Jr. suggesting DeSantis has a lack of “courage.”
Trump Jr. tweeted last Sunday (April 30): “It’s been almost a week since Fox News fired Tucker Carlson and Ron DeSantis STILL hasn’t found the courage to say a word about it.”
DeSantis finally broke his silence in an interview with Newsmax on Friday (May 5), calling Carlson “fantastic,” while suggesting that the former host’s ouster had less to do with the host and more to do with the behind-the-scenes at Fox News, which he did not specify.
DeSantis described Tucker Carlson as a “fantastic individual,” claiming he thinks “it’s terrible that [Carlson] was fired,” pointing to a belief that there’s “more to it.”.
He shared his belief that the ouster really didn’t have something to do with Carlson, but rather something else “going on with Fox,” concluding with comments that Carlson would be successful in his next endeavors.
