Tucker Carlson shot down a claim made by author Michael Wolff in his new book that Florida Governor and GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis kicked one of the Carlson's family dog while attending a dinner at their home.
The Daily Beast reported about the hard-to-believe claim:
The DeSantis couple allegedly failed 'to read the room,' especially with Carlson’s wife, 'a genteel, stay-at-home woman, here in her own house,' Wolff notes. 'For two hours Ron DeSantis sat at her table talking in an outdoor voice indoors, failing to observe any basics of conversation ritual or propriety, reeling off an unselfconscious list of his programs and initiatives and political accomplishments.'
...
During the dinner, Wolff writes, 'DeSantis pushed the dog under the table. Had he kicked the dog? Susie Carlson’s judgment was clear: she did not ever want to be anywhere near anybody like that ever again. Her husband agreed. DeSantis, in Carlson’s view, was a ‘fascist.’ The pot calling the kettle even blacker. Forget Ron DeSantis.'
In text messages to several reporters, Carlson said the claim in Wolff's book is "totally made up" and the story is "absurd."
Tucker Carlson tells me that Michael Wolff's claim in his new book that Ron DeSantis kicked the Carlson family dog is "totally made up" and that the story is "absurd."
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) September 20, 2023
DeSantis' Communications Director Andrew Romeo also called the story false.
DeSantis spokesman @andrewromeo33 also says the story is false: pic.twitter.com/lIv9hw1iNl
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) September 20, 2023
Business Insider noted Wolff has a history of including outrageous claims in his books that are easily debunked, disputed by those involved, or do not hold up under scrutiny:
Wolff has faced questions about the accuracy of his books before. He published three different books during Donald Trump's presidency, each of which were filled with lurid descriptions of the behavior of the president and his inner circle.
Several of the claims from Wolff's first Trump book, Fire and Fury, were disputed by the subjects involved, and the book contained some factual errors.
Oh a new Michael Wolff book is coming out... reminds me of @michaelahrens' classic response to his previous book: the reviews are in... https://t.co/8CTrGJlOKf pic.twitter.com/eJxAw8eNUj
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) September 20, 2023
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