Fox News host Steve Doocy is pitching Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin as a possible alternative to former President Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary amid a weaker-than-expected showing (thus far) by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Some on Twitter described Doocy's remarks as all but pleading for Youngkin to enter the race. (RELATED: Biden Uses Virginia Tragedy To Push Radical Partisan Agenda)
Mediaite reports:
As Fox & Friends discussed the current state of the primary race, Doocy brought up the news that the DeSantis campaign held a retreat over the weekend to reportedly work on revamping his political operation. At the same time, Doocy acknowledged that the Florida governor has been unable to close the gap with Donald Trump so far as the former president maintains his significant polling lead.
Doocy went on to comment on Youngkin's “record-high approval rating,” strongly hinting at the governor's viability as a presidential candidate.
“A lot of people like what he's doing out there,” Doocy said. “You look at a Republican governor in a purple state, for the most part, and you're thinking ‘I wonder if that guy could possibly run for president?'”
Doocy's comments come after reports indicated that Youngkin is Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch's ideal choice for who he wants to see in the 2024 race. The News Corp chairman has reportedly soured on DeSantis' campaign approach, and he's concerned about what could happen if DeSantis or Trump stay at the forefront of the Republican Party.
During a live broadcast later Tuesday, Fox News anchor Bret Baier and correspondent John Roberts discussed a Politico article that revealed the DeSantis campaign let go of one-third of its staff as part of a strategic overhaul. The report led Roberts to compare DeSantis to GOP stars of yesteryear who fizzled out unexpectedly, like Govs. Tim Pawlenty and Scott Walker.
“Could Ron DeSantis be the latest in the group?” Roberts asked.
While DeSantis has no intention of joining the list of GOP also-rans, the decision to cut a third of his payroll five months before the Iowa caucuses speaks volumes.
“There were real concerns by big donors, we were told, of the spending, the burn rate and they were spending a lot of money but not getting a lot of bang for their buck,” said Baier alluding to a scene of increasing urgency behind the scenes. (RELATED: Tucker Carlson's Secret Plan Just Slipped Out And It's Getting ‘Hundreds Of Millions')
The first GOP presidential debate is scheduled for Aug. 23 on Fox News.
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Those east-coasters sure are out of touch with main-stream America, aren’t they?
Steve Doocy got the message from the liberal management at Fox, so he’s totally on board with them! When did you go from smart to compromised, Steve?
What a stupid replacement IF he would even run!! The only good alternative to Trump (not that I want one myself) would be Vivek Ramasamy would really is a great conservative and would be a great VP for Trump, but not Youngkin the pumpkin who can’t even pull well in Virginia and is a two-time loser and out of touch elitist and cannot relate to the average man on the street, but only his buddies in financial crime on Wall Street.