Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called on his political rival, former President Donald Trump, to debate the 2024 presidential candidates.
Trump has not confirmed whether he will participate in the first debate scheduled to be held Aug. 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During a “Fox & Friends” interview released Thursday, DeSantis said Trump “owes it” to the American people to be present on the debate stage.
“I think we’ll do well either way, but I think he owes it to people to participate,” the governor told Fox News’ Ainsley Earhardt. “Nobody is entitled to be nominated, you got to earn it. You’ve got to earn everything in this world, so I think you show up, I think you participate, I think you make your case, and I think you answer questions. So we’re gonna be doing that regardless of who shows up, but yeah, I think he ought to participate.”
Trump has alluded to skipping the debate in order to hurt Fox News’ ratings in a June 26 Truth Social post. He accused the network of refusing to give him positive coverage in an attempt to “to promote” DeSantis.
“So FoxNews, which is down 37% in the Ratings, doesn’t cover my getting the “Man of the Decade” Award (because of my great trade policies!) in Michigan, or my Keynote Speech for Faith & Freedom in D.C., and then wants me to show up and get them ratings for their “Presidential” Debate, where I’m leading the field by 40 points. All they do is promote, against all hope, Ron DeSanctimonious, and he’s dropping like a rock. Sorry FoxNews, life doesn’t work that way!!!” Trump wrote. He more recently said that he had not “really made up [his] mind.”
Trump has subjected DeSantis to both political and personal attacks ever since polls found neck-and-neck competition between the two in a hypothetical 2024 race. The former president nicknamed him “Ron DeSanctimonious” and branded him as an “average governor” who only gained popularity because of his endorsement in the 2018 Florida gubernatorial race. (RELATED: DeSantis Campaign Memo Reveals New Strategy To Catch Donald Trump)
Trump has further criticized DeSantis over his response to COVID-19 and for signing a six-week abortion restriction into law back in April.
DeSantis first responded to Trump’s attack in February by saying he spends his time “delivering” for his constituents rather than smearing other Republicans. The governor told Fox News’ Howard Kurtz in a Sunday interview that Trump failed to “drain the swamp” and deliver on his promises to secure the border and eliminate debt, and also vowed he would not attack other candidates throughout his campaign.
Trump is currently the frontrunner of the presidential race with 51.3% of support, according to FiveThirtyEight. The Florida governor is in second place with 21%, and former Vice President Mike Pence is in third with 6.8%.