WhatsappGovernor DeSantis has taken a combative attitude towards the media. In this Ben Shapiro interview with him, he explains that there is really no option today other than fighting the press against their false conspiracies. He explains that this is not about a liberal bias, but about a clear intention to create hit pieces against the people and theories they oppose. DeSantis thinks that it is important to not try to be liked by the press, but to keep tossing the facts right back in the face of the anti-truth media.
There is no way around it. Donald Trump is the main reason that so many people today massively distrust the media. When Donald Trump stood up in front of the entire nation, first in the debates, and then as President, and called out CNN as fake news, he created a massive wave of tens of millions of people who realized that they were being duped by CNN every day of the year on so many issues. People used to be annoyed by CNN. Trump got them to hate CNN and other outlets. He did it very effectively, even if sometimes in an exaggerated manner.
But Trump didn’t just go after CNN, he went after all mainstream media. And though he clearly went too far in criticizing anyone who criticized him, his basic concept about the media was true. Most of the media is not just biased – it is filled with downright false narratives, and cannot be trusted.
Governor DeSantis has decided that he will adopt this anti-media attitude of Donald Trump. It is an interesting angle, as it means that he is adopting one of the more controversial sides of Donald Trump. It would be much easier to identify with some of the Trump policies on economic and foreign policy issues. But DeSantis sees himself as a more palatable version of Donald Trump with a little bit of Trump bluster. That may prove a winning formula when DeSantis runs in 2024 or 2028. But watch this guy. He has what it takes to go far, and that includes the ambition and winning track record thus far.
