DeSantis heaps compliments on 'Florida resident' Tucker Carlson, calling the ousted Fox host 'talented' and 'funny'

• Tucker Carlson was abruptly fired from Fox News on April 24.
• Ron DeSantis decried the firing and praised Carlson for challenging the "prevailing orthodoxies."

From one Florida man to another: Gov. Ron DeSantis praised Tucker Carlson and his show at Fox News while criticizing the media company's abrupt decision to fire the popular conservative news host.

In an interview on Friday with Newsmax, DeSantis said Carlson was a "fantastic individual" and that it was "terrible" for Fox News to let him go last month.

"I think the show was fantastic. I think it's terrible that he was fired," the Florida governor said.

Carlson was abruptly fired on April 24 with little explanation from Fox News about why it terminated one of the right-wing movement's most prominent voices.

Several theories could explain Carlson's ousting, including the recently settled Dominion lawsuit, which revealed how the news host privately questioned baseless claims of election mishaps and expressed his "hate" for Donald Trump.

"We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights," Carlson said in a text days after the 2020 election was certified. "I hate him passionately."

The New York Times also reported that a text message from Carlson — in which he discussed a "group of Trump guys" jumping an "Antifa kid" — raised alarm bells with Fox executives as the Dominion trial was about to begin.

DeSantis doubted that the firing had anything to specifically with Carlson and said the reason may have had more to do with "some of this other stuff going on with Fox," though he did not add further clarification.

A spokesperson for the governor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

DeSantis complimented Carlson on his willingness to "speak out and challenge the prevailing orthodoxies" and expressed confidence that the host will succeed in his future endeavors.

He also expressed pride to have Carlson as a fellow Florida resident, although he joked that Carlson might not love summers in the Sunshine State.

"We're proud because he's a Florida resident, and he loves the state of Florida," he said. "Doesn't like the summers. He goes up to Maine for the summer."