'Afraid of the press': 'Fascist' Ron DeSantis blasted for blacklisting the media at Dallas GOP event

02 March 2023

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is not allowing reporters to attend a major upcoming GOP fundraiser event in Dallas, Texas, The Dallas Morning News reports.

The annual "Reagan Day Dinner," hosted by the Dallas County Republican Party, according to Dallas Morning News, is typically welcoming to the media, as it is considered "a showcase for Republicans across the region."

This year will be different.

"We are not able to invite the media," Jennifer Stoddard-Hajdu, Dallas County Republican Party Chairwoman said. "That was the decision of Governor DeSantis' team."

The Florida governor is set to participate in "a fireside chat" during the event as part of his strategy building up to his widely anticipated 2024 presidential run announcement.

According to The Dallas Morning News, the governor will also speak in Harris County later this week, which will ban reporters as well.

"We know fascist Republican Ron DeSantis is afraid of history books, free market capitalism, and kids playing sports, but we didn’t know he was afraid of Dallas County’s local reporters," Kristy Noble, Dallas County Democratic Party chair said in a statement. "We're proud to open all our Democratic events to the media because we're proud of our values. Maybe Republicans know he’s no match for their party leader — election loser after election loser Donald Trump."

Mark Jones, a political scientist at Rice University said, "DeSantis has a frayed relationship with the media and a desire to effectively keep himself walled off from the media." He continued, "There's also a belief among many Republicans, especially for the primary, that traditional media simply isn't much use to them and that they have little to gain and too much to lose by being exposed to the media."

However, Noble believes DeSantis is simply "afraid of the press."

Contrary to that sentiment, in a turn of events, The New York Times reports DeSantis recently agreed to "an extensive interview" with the American correspondent for The Times of London.

NYT reports:

Presumably, few Republican primary voters reside in Britain. But The Times of London, one of England's oldest and most respected papers, is controlled by Rupert Murdoch, whose media empire has already thrown its considerable influence behind the prospect of a DeSantis presidential bid.

The Dallas Morning News' full report is available here (subscription required). The New York Times' report is here (subscription required).

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