With Trump and Rumble, Florida becomes conservative media HQ
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Selene San Felice
Sara Fischer
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?Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
Donald Trump is bringing conservative media — a multi-billion-dollar industry — to Sarasota County.
Driving the news: Trump Media and Technology Group Corp., which owns social media app Truth Social, registered as a business in Florida earlier this month, using an office building on North Cattlemen Road in Sarasota as its address, per the Herald-Tribune.
Just 11 miles down the road, Canadian media company Rumble, a video platform commonly used by conservatives, recently made Longboat Key its U.S. headquarters.
Why it matters: Rumble, which also powers Truth Social's back-end technology, is expected to merge with special purpose acquisition company CF Acquisition Corp, which would make it worth $2 billion.
Rumble moved to Longboat Key last month despite Sarasota County rescinding the company's $825,000 incentive grant in response to community backlash over its broadcasting of Russian media after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The big picture: Florida has become a popular destination for conservative media upstarts — Newsmax, the cable network owned by Chris Ruddy, is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.
Tampa has become a hub for young Republicans and conservative media influencers.
Dan Bongino, a well-known conservative podcaster, lives in Palm City.
Plus: Jimmy Finkelstein, most recently the owner of political newspaper and website The Hill, is planning to launch a new media company that will have its base in Florida — where Finkelstein now resides.
The Hill has come under fire in the past for pushing conspiracy theories about Ukraine and for his ties to former President Trump.
State of play: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is not generally friendly toward progressive media. Last week, DeSantis asked legislators to repeal a law that allows the Walt Disney World Resort to operate as a self-governing body, in response to Disney's position against a law that he recently signed, dubbed by critics "Don't Say Gay."
Be smart: In addition to Florida, Nashville is proving to also be a center for conservative media companies. The Daily Wire moved its headquarters to Nashville from California last year.
Parler, the Twitter alternative often used by conservatives, is based in Nashville.
