With U.S. President Joe Biden appearing on a rival network's town hall Thursday, Fox News naturally booked the man supporters call "America's Governor" to counterprogram the Democratic President

Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared in the second quarter hour of Tucker Carlson, after a week in which he redoubled his opposition to President Biden on a number of issues.

He vowed Special Session action against vaccine mandates. Additionally, he suggested Florida could save Christmas from Biden-caused supply bottlenecks, offering seemingly unlimited capacity for rerouted freight at ports.

Those tropes recurred in the Tucker hit. DeSantis defended the need for a Special Session, noting that mandates are "unconstitutional" and "bad all around."

"Yes, we're going to be doing litigation," DeSantis said, "but we also need legislation."

Asked if he expected confrontation with the Biden administration, DeSantis blurted "well, I'm sure they'll do whatever they can," blaming Biden for "trying to cut off the supply of Regeneron" earlier this year.  (However, it's worth noting that DeSantis downplayed the lowering of shipments to Florida in a recent press conference.)

Moving on to supply issues, DeSantis again trumpeted "capacity" at Florida ports, as he allowed that Florida seaports could be the partial solution to queued up cargo ships languishing off ports elsewhere.

"They made a big deal about L.A. starting to do 24/7. We always do 24/7 in Florida," DeSantis said, echoing his memorable catchphrase promoting Florida's logistical dedication, the same language from days before in front of Florida reporters.

"You might as well bring it to Florida," DeSantis cajoled.

The segment ended before the midpoint of the hour, with DeSantis not getting the benefit of leading off even the quarter hour, much less the A-Block of the program. Not covered was DeSantis' stance against the "weaponized" Justice Department, regarding school board protests that have become dangerous in some locales.

DeSantis, who has said vis a vis Biden that he is "standing in his way," continued standing thus on the friendly turf of Fox News, setting the table for political activity starting Friday. As POLITICO Florida's Gary Fineout noted, the appearance is a prelude to a fundraising swing that takes him to California in the coming days.

DeSantis has dismissed speculation that he wants to run for President as "purely manufactured." Despite such demurrals, there was a canned quality to this appearance and its precise timing after a series of in-state red meat press conferences and before a West Coast swing.

Indeed, a fundraising email from the Governor's political committee pushing merchandise preceded the TV hit by an hour or so: "That's why we're rolling out BRAND NEW 'Don't Tread On Florida' merchandise EXCLUSIVELY at our Team DeSantis store. Now is your chance to support Florida as the model of freedom in America today! We aren't backing down and we aren't giving away our freedom in Florida!"

Fox News, with an eye toward synergy, helpfully pitched the merchandise as a hook for a story about the Special Session ahead of the DeSantis showup.

One could argue that this appearance was an attempt to remind viewers that he is indeed of Presidential timbre, as former President Donald Trump continues to dominate the 2024 landscape on the right. Even potential 2022 Democratic opponents to DeSantis' reelection have very recently needled the Governor about his status vis a vis Trump

""And that begs the question — with everything going on in our state, why the hell is (DeSantis) calling a special session on this? I think I know the answer. Because he's running for President as Donald Trump, Jr. Jr.," snarked a fundraising email from Nikki Fried Thursday.

Rep. Charlie Crist tweeted likewise: "We all know why Ron is pulling this stunt — so he can show his loyalty to Trump. It's disgusting, it's wrong, and I vehemently oppose it."