Mar 2, 2023 - Politics & Policy

GOP's 2024 race captured in one Fox clip

Rarely does one picture truly tell 1,000 words. But a Fox News segment this week perfectly captured the state of the GOP's 2024 presidential race, in a few short frames.

Why it matters: Rupert Murdoch, the Donald Trump booster turned critic, has turned Fox News into a very friendly platform for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — promoting his unofficial run for president.

The drama: DeSantis, plugging his new book and testing his 2024 message, joined "Fox & Friends" virtually on Tuesday.

  • As part of the coverage, co-host Brian Kilmeade was working a live audience at the Metro Diner in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. — a suburb of Jacksonville, DeSantis' birthplace.

In 2020, this could've been Sean Hannity teeing up Trump. But things have soured badly between the former president and the most-watched cable news channel.

The climax: Kilmeade roams the diner, asking who people support for 2024.

  • "Trump," says the first.
  • "Trump," says the second.
  • "Trump," says the third ... and fourth ... and fifth ... and sixth.

Finally, Kilmeade finds a woman with a DeSantis T-shirt, and asks her who she backs.

  • She replies: "Oh, gosh! I don't know. Trump or DeSantis — I'm either/or."

The intrigue: DeSantis used to live within walking distance of the diner — and represented the area when he was in Congress, The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union writes.

The bottom line: While DeSantis has surged to the clear number two in the GOP field, the diner crowd echoed what four recent polls found:

  • This is Trump's party — and crashing it will be harder than many presume.

Go deeper: Watch the video (Mediaite)

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