MSNBC's Ari Melber cites Media Matters' study showing Fox News' increased attention to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
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From the March 14, 2023, edition of MSNBC's The Beat With Ari Melber
ARI MELBER (HOST): Now remember, we're not talking about this network suddenly just going super hard on someone that they have clearly come back to and helped and praised in various ways for six years. We're talking about them lowering the positive temperature and then looking for the alternative. They've also lowered the frequency of you even hearing from Donald Trump directly -- some calling it a "soft ban," according to the media outlet Semafor.
And then there's the DeSantis piece. In politics, like life, you can't beat something with nothing, and this tells the story. Trump happens to be in orange. DeSantis happens to be in yellow. You can see, in the yellow chart, a clear and marked recent shift here, in the February/March period, where DeSantis -- who, of course, is not a former president -- is almost and, at times, beating Trump in his Fox mentions, which is key to the GOP primary.
Now, DeSantis isn't even running for president yet, another sign that Fox is embracing someone who hasn't even jumped in, and is basically less subject to the kind of coverage he might get if he were the main contender against Trump.