'DeSantis did the same': Florida Gov mocked for saying Trump has 'Praetorian Guard of conservative media'

DES MOINES, IOWA: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis when speaking with reporters on Friday, January 12, revealed something that every Republican politician knows but never says out loud: Conservative media does not hold Republicans accountable.

DeSantis remarked about the 77-year-old GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, “He’s got basically a Praetorian Guard of the conservative media — Fox News, the websites, all the stuff — they just don’t hold him accountable because they’re worried about losing viewers. And they don’t want to have their ratings go down.”

DeSantis is in the throes of a bitterly disappointing presidential campaign that has reduced him from the poster boy of the post-Trump GOP era, to now, a laughing stock.

He is, therefore, justifiably angry at the conservative legacy media, which is currently serving as a public relations outlet for the former President who is ruining his credibility and limiting his chances to run for POTUS ever again.

Where did it go wrong for Ron DeSantis's presidential campaign?

One ironic fact that remains unmentioned is that a considerable portion of the conservative media machinery used to work in favor of Ron DeSantis in the past.

Following the events of January 6, 2021, when Republicans presumed that Trump had become toxic, conservative media embarked on a mission to wean the base off Trump and redirect their attention towards the emerging Republican governor from Florida.

Rupert Murdoch, the former chairperson of FOX News wrote to a colleague stating that "We want to make Trump a nonperson," while a Fox News producer wrote in an email that they saw DeSantis as the future of the party, according to a report from the New York Magazine.

From the aftermath of the insurrection until the middle of 2023, conservative media promoted Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the style of an infomercial.

The flaw in this strategy was that the audience or the GOP voter base was not responding as expected.

An infamous clip revealed the moment when the network seemed to realize its miscalculation, when Brian Kilmeade, a mainstay on Fox News, interviewed a series of diner guests in the Sunshine State attempting to drum up support for their elected governor for the upcoming general election, only to find that all of them preferred Donald Trump.

At one point, he even rushed toward a woman wearing a DeSantis T-shirt in desperation, only for her to say that she was undecided between the two.

Last summer, conservative media outlets, including Fox News, withdrew their support for DeSantis and returned to promoting Trump.

As DeSantis himself acknowledged, the reason for this shift was to retain their audience and prevent any potential loss of market share that could result from criticizing their strongman.

It is widely accepted among professional Republicans that Fox News is not a conventional news network, but rather a partisan messaging platform disguised as a traditional broadcast format.

This is often justified by the belief that mainstream media is also biased, but this assumption is somewhat exaggerated.

While implicit bias may exist within the predominantly left-of-center media staff, media outlets generally strive to adhere to traditional standards of objectivity.

Unlike Fox News, CNN and the New York Times do not have executives who decide which candidates to promote and plan coverage accordingly.

Publicly, Republicans will claim that conservative media is unbiased and impartial and that it simply reports on stories that the liberal media ignores.

They will not admit that Fox News never discloses when Republican leaders lie or cheat, as maintaining this pretense is a fundamental component of conservative-movement discipline.

Governor DeSantis’ decision to break the Republican code of silence before the January 15 Iowa caucuses can be seen as a testament to the extent of his frustration and embarrassment on the back of a largely disappointing attempt at mounting a presidential challenge.

Internet shows no sympathy for the Florida Governor

People on X noted how DeSantis had won the gubernatorial election race in Florida after backing a network of obsequious right-wing outlets to sing praises in his name.

One X user remarked, "DeSantis did the same in Florida by propping up a network of sycophantic pay to play right wing outlets. Public records reveal DeSantis’ press team has a list of “journalists” who they refer to as “friendlies.” It includes Brendon Leslie, a political hack with a right wing blog."

Another user noted, "Except that was the case when DeSantis and Trump were on good terms, so DeSantis benefitted from this. He didn't mind then. And given how DeSantis spent the majority of his campaign also unwilling to speak candidly about Trump for fear of losing the same people, rings hollow. AK."

"“I will pardon Trump if I am elected” DeSantis tomorrow probably Oh wait, that was last week," another user quipped.

One user wrote, "Ron DeSantis is saying he is not worried about Fox News not telling the truth about Trump because they are scared of losing viewers. Well, Ron, why don't you start by calling Trump what he is: an insurrectionist, con man, and soon-to-be convicted criminal? If everyone knew that Donald Trump's base is not as big as people think. It's shrinking every day he opens that big hole in his face. Also, he lost many supporters by calling Covid a hoax and suggesting they drink bleach. Then, you have many Republicans who voted for him the first time realizing they made a mistake, and those who voted for him a second time are hanging their heads in shame, refusing to make that same stupid mistake again. Nevertheless, in deeply Confederate states, we start the electoral process 35 votes behind. So, it requires everyone's energy to get out and vote again because a butterfly can always fly in the middle of a tropical storm and turn into a hurricane, just as it did in 2016 with Trump’s surprise victory."

"DeSantis is correct. Fox and Newsmax have always refused to hold Trump accountable for his mishandling of Covid, jacking our debt up $8 Trillion, lying about the wall, pushing for amnesty of 2M illegals while forcing honest immigrants to the back of the line. Fox sucks for $$," another X user stated.

One user tweeted, "Ron is whining and complaining. Poor Ron. LOL"

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.