Rupert Murdoch Ditches 'Golden Boy' DeSantis: Trump Team

Former President Donald Trump's campaign has claimed that Fox News' billionaire owner Rupert Murdoch has soured on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

The Trump campaign argued in a press release on Tuesday that DeSantis is no longer Murdoch's "golden boy" and cited an extended conversation between Fox News anchors Bret Baier and John Roberts on America Reports.

The press release comes after news that the DeSantis campaign has cut roughly a third of its staff—or 38 people—as part of a "reset" aimed at getting the Republican's presidential bid back on track.

DeSantis is challenging Trump for the GOP's 2024 presidential nomination. While Trump remains the frontrunner, the DeSantis campaign has had a rocky few weeks and the Florida governor remains behind Trump in the most recent polling.

The Trump campaign's press release carried the headline: "Fox News Mourns the Loss of DeSantis 2024 Bid: 'Trump Keeps Getting Stronger.'"

"In no uncertain terms, Rupert Murdoch made clear that Ron DeSantis is his golden boy, no longer," the Trump campaign statement said.

"Today on America Reports, Fox News' Bret Baier and John Roberts eviscerated DeSantis as news broke that the DeSantis campaign has fired more than a third of its staff in response to intesne donor outrage," the statement said.

"Comparing DeSantis to 'Jeb Bush,' Roberts detailed the follies that have left DeSantis fighting to hold on to third place in several early states," the campaign said.

Newsweek has reached out to the DeSantis campaign via email for comment.

The Trump campaign statement went on to quote extensively from the discussion Baier and Roberts had during their program on Tuesday afternoon and also provided a link to a clip of their conversation.

The two anchors joked that DeSantis' campaign might not last long enough for the Florida governor's interview with Fox News scheduled for next week.

Roberts appeared to compare DeSantis to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who had been considered a leading contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination but whose campaign fizzled. Trump ultimately won the nomination.

Roberts and Baier discussed the DeSantis layoffs, with Baier describing the news as a "big sign."

"We haven't even gotten to August, as of yet. There were real concerns by big donors, we were told, of the spending. The burn rate. They were spending a lot of money but not getting a lot of bang for their buck. He is trailing in every poll by 20, 30, sometimes 40 points," Roberts said.

Baier said that DeSantis has not "seen the traction" that had been expected and noted a "change in media strategy." He added Fox News had secured an interview with DeSantis next week after months of requesting one.

"We just got confirmation that we will interview the governor in New Hampshire, Monday," Baier said.

"As long as he makes it," Roberts joked.

At the end of the exchange cited by the Trump campaign, Baier said that "if you're a candidate, you've got to be looking at this saying, 'God, no matter what happens to Donald Trump, he just keeps getting stronger. Maybe, we should save our powder and you know, come back at this in 2028.'"

Questions have already been raised about how Fox News intends to handle the DeSantis campaign after a report from Rolling Stone magazine earlier this month claimed that Murdoch was souring on DeSantis, citing sources at Fox News.

Murdoch has been a key figure in American politics. The media mogul and his family control not only Fox News but also major publications like The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and other media properties across the world.

"Fox News is a commercial enterprise, so it will trend whichever way the GOP base trends. For that reason alone, it's always seemed naive to think that Trump and Fox News wouldn't kiss and make up," Thomas Gift, founding director of the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London, U.K., told Newsweek earlier this month.