Ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson is firmly denying claims that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis kicked the Carlson family’s dog.
The claim was made in an excerpt of Michael Wolff’s forthcoming book, “The Fall: The End of Fox News and the Murdoch Dynasty,” published Wednesday morning by New York Magazine.
Wolff writes that in the spring of this year, the Carlsons had DeSantis over for lunch amid “quiet urgings at Fox for Carlson to be open-minded about Murdoch’s favored candidate.”
Wolff described the Carlsons as “dog people with four spaniels, the progeny of other spaniels they have had before, who sleep in their bed.”
During the lunch, he claimed, “DeSantis pushed the dog under the table. Had he kicked the dog?” Wolff then said that neither Carlson nor his wife wanted “to be anywhere near anybody like that ever again.”
Both Carlson and DeSantis have vehemently denied Wolff’s depiction of DeSantis’ interaction with the dog.
“The totality of that story is absurd and false,” DeSantis spokesperson Andrew Romeo said in a statement. “Some will say or write anything to attack Ron DeSantis because they know he presents a threat to their worldview.”
He added: “But rest assured that as president the one thing he will squarely kick is the DC elitists in both parties either under or over the table, and that’s why they are so desperately fighting back.”
And Carlson described Wolff’s account as “totally made up” and “absurd.”
“This is absurd,” Carlson told Insider. “He never touched my dog, obviously.”
For what it’s worth, DeSantis has offered a number of dog owner-friendly proposals and initiatives within Florida.
In the spring, DeSantis pushed for a tax break on pet food and pet medication, saying, “As much as we understand how important it is for families raising children, we also understand that for a lot of families, it’s not just the children that they look after.”
“It is also their pets that they look after,” he continued. “So, we are going to be able to do and propose a one-year sales tax exemption on all pet food. That’s going to make a big difference.”
And in June, he approved a new law preventing breed-specific bans on dogs in municipal and public housing in the state. He also signed legislation requiring counties with designated emergency shelters to offer a pet-friendly shelter during emergency evacuations and a bill prohibiting housing discrimination for those needing a support animal.
