Tucker Carlson Accuses DeSantis of Flip Flopping on Key Issue Because a Donor ‘Told Him To’

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson accused Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis of changing his position on Ukraine because a high-profile donor “told him to” on Monday.

“You really get the sense that Ron DeSantis – who I liked as governor – the people who represent him online are the nastiest, the stupidest, and the most zero-sum people I’ve ever seen in my life, and I don’t think that reflects him, but it’s like, this is kind of small ball,” Carlson told podcaster Tim Pool on his show.

“And I like him [DeSantis], ok? I think he’s been a good governor; I just want to be clear about that. I know him personally, I like him, but his donor, Ken Griffin, told him to change his view on Ukraine from, ‘It’s a regional conflict we shouldn’t get involved in,’ to, ‘It’s a super important thing, we should send more money,'” asserted Carlson. “One donor got him to change his view, and all these so-called conservatives are just supporting that like it’s the most important thing. I feel like, who are these people, and what is their problem? Like, what is going on with them?”

Prior to Carlson’s firing at Fox News, he solicited position statements from all of the prospective Republican presidential candidates on the war in Ukraine. DeSantis’s answer stated that “becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not” a “vital” American national security interest and criticized the Biden administration for its “‘blank check’ funding of this conflict.”

After being criticized for that statement, DeSantis clarified his comments by insisting that he didn’t believe Russia had a right to certain territories in eastern Ukraine and that Putin was a “war criminal,” but also restated his belief that it may be difficult for the Ukrainians to retake said territory.

In the first GOP primary debate in August, DeSantis said that as president, he would stop funding the war in Ukraine unless European countries started to “pull their weight.” In subsequent forums, DeSantis declared that “we need to bring this war to an end” and that “we are not going to have a blank check.”

Carlson’s criticism of DeSantis comes amidst his charm offensive aimed at former president Donald Trump. Private communications sent by Carlson that were made public over the course of Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against Fox News revealed that Carlson believed Trump to be a “demonic force” and looked forward to not having to talk about Trump for much longer in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.

But in the months since that revelation — and as Trump has proven that he retains his grip on Republican voters during the 2024 primary — Carlson has insisted that he loves Trump and called him “brave.”

Watch above via Timcast.