Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis accused some conservative media outlets, such as Fox News, of not holding former President Donald Trump accountable because of television ratings—a new critique for the GOP presidential candidate who is attempting to distinguish himself from the Republican frontrunner in the days ahead of the Iowa caucuses.
DeSantis made the critique while speaking to reporters ahead of Monday’s Iowa caucuses.
While speaking with a group of reporters in Iowa on Friday, DeSantis said Trump has a “praetorian guard” of the conservative media, citing Fox News specifically, as outlets that “just don’t hold him accountable,” because of the fear of losing viewers.
DeSantis said the “objective reality” is that media organizations “don’t want to have the ratings go down.”
Dangerous cold temperatures and poor travel conditions forced DeSantis and some of the other GOP hopefuls to cancel the remainder of their campaign events Friday.
Despite his criticism of Fox News, DeSantis appeared on the network Tuesday night for an hour-long town hall and appeared on Sean Hannity’s show Thursday evening. DeSantis is also scheduled to be on Fox News Sunday this weekend, according to the network.
On Wednesday, hours before Trump was scheduled to make an appearance on Fox News for the first time in two years, the former president criticized the network for its praise of other primary candidates, including DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. In a post on Truth Social, Trump criticized “Fox & Friends” host Steve Doocy, saying the anchor was “desperately trying to save DeSanctimonious, a sinking ship.”
12.1% That’s DeSantis’ support in the Republican primaries, according to the latest FiveThirtyEight polling average. DeSantis is in second place behind Trump, who dominates the GOP field with 60.4% support, per FiveThirtyEight
DeSantis had made campaign stops in all 99 counties in Iowa ahead of Monday’s primary.
Trump Accuses Fox News Of ‘Desperately Trying To Save’ DeSantis (Forbes)
Haley And DeSantis Trade Personal Insults And Criticize Trump—Key Takeaways From Fiery GOP Debate (Forbes)