The next morning, Jason Chaffetz, a former Republican congressperson turned Fox News contributor, denounced Trump’s performance as “absolutely horrific”.

“I voted for Donald Trump twice. I have defended him countless times. I thought he was horrific,” Chaffetz said. “I think that was the worst interview I’ve seen the president do.” He went on to criticise the former president for “whining”, “complaining” and playing “the victim card”. Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade, two of the co-hosts of the morning show Fox & Friends, also knocked Trump’s performance.

Nielsen ratings — one of Trump’s preferred metrics — provided their own kind of tough review. In past years, a Trump interview would almost always deliver Fox News’ biggest audience of the day. On Monday, Trump drew 3.04 million viewers, higher than the average episode of Hannity but well below that day’s viewership for The Five and Tucker Carlson Tonight.

With a defamation suit against Fox News filed by Dominion Voting Systems hurtling toward a trial, it was notable that Hannity’s interview with Trump was pretaped.

Trump’s baseless claims about a “rigged” 2020 election are central to the Dominion case; a live appearance by Trump in which he repeats those claims could be hazardous for the network. It could also put a Fox News anchor in the awkward position of having to contradict Trump on-air, the kind of exchange that could easily go viral and turn off some of the network’s viewers.

DeSantis, meanwhile, continues to rely on Fox News and other Murdoch properties for his major media appearances, even as his absence from other conservative-friendly outlets like Breitbart News has come under new scrutiny.

“I voted for Donald Trump twice.; I have defended him countless times. I thought he was horrific,”

Jason Chaffetz, a former Republican congressperson turned Fox News contributor, was scathing of the former president’s interview on Hannity.

Megyn Kelly, the former Fox News star who now hosts a successful podcast, revealed to listeners this week that DeSantis has been ducking her invitations.

“I love Piers Morgan, he’s a pal of mine, but why would you go sit with the British guy and not come on this show?” Kelly said on her program, referring to DeSantis’ recent interview with the London-based Morgan.

“I will venture to say he’s afraid,” Kelly added. “I’m just going to put it out there: He’s afraid because he knows the kind of interview that I would give him. He’s not going to get a pass.”

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The Florida governor avoids most one-on-one interactions with the mainstream media. Other than a recent appearance on Eric Bolling’s Newsmax program, DeSantis has leaned extensively on venues controlled by Murdoch, even those based overseas. He gave an interview to The Times of London. Morgan is based at TalkTV, a British network owned by Murdoch, although his DeSantis interview aired on the streaming channel Fox Nation and was excerpted by The New York Post.

It has not been lost on Trump’s allies that DeSantis’ poll numbers have softened at a moment when he is enjoying mostly sympathetic coverage from Fox News.

And there are subtle signs that DeSantis may not always be able to bank on the network’s good graces. On Tuesday, Jesse Watters, a co-host of The Five, offered some advice to the Florida governor in the wake of Trump’s attacks.

“DeSantis is taking a bruising,” Watters said. “If I were Ron, I would start talking. Because every day that goes by, Trump draws blood.” He added, “How many more weeks and months is this going to sustain itself? Ron’s got to come out and say something, or else he’s just going to limp into this primary.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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