‘Step Up’: Ron DeSantis Blasts Rival Donald Trump for Refusing to Debate Him, Tells Ex-prez ‘No One is Entitled’ to Nomination
July 13 2023, Published 10:00 a.m. ET
Florida governor Ron DeSantis publicly called out ex-president Donald Trump for refusing to commit to attending the debates with the other Republican presidential nominees, RadarOnline.com has learned.
On Wednesday, DeSantis, who is attempting to recover from dismal polling numbers, sat down for an interview on the Howie Carr Show.
During the chat, DeSantis said he will be at the first debate of the 2024 primary which will take place in Wisconsin on August 23.
“Nobody is entitled to this nomination. You have got to earn the nomination,” DeSantis said. The duo discussed the upcoming Iowa Family Leader Summit hosted by Tucker Carlson, which Trump also bailed on.
“Doing things like The Family Leader event in Iowa, doing things like these debates — they're important parts of the process,” DeSantis added. “So I'm going to be in Iowa for that, I will be in Milwaukee for the first debate and I'll be at all the debates.”
“The American people deserve to hear from us directly about our vision for the country and about how we're going to be able to beat Joe Biden,” he added.
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Trump has blown off confirming whether he will show up at the first debate. However, sources close to the ex-president revealed he believes the situation is beneath him.
DeSantis added, “We had the Biden-Trump in 2020 – and Biden's president. So the idea that he's just entitled after that – it just doesn't make any sense. So, he should debate, he should go to all these things and see if he can earn it with his vision.”
Aside from DeSantis, Trump faces competition from Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, Tim Scott, and Vivek Ramaswamy.
DeSantis criticized Trump for failing to accomplish promises he made while running for president the first time.
“I'll tell you this just of what I've seen of him, his campaign is basically doing two things. One, promising things like draining the swamp and building the wall that he promised in 2016 and didn't deliver,” he said.