Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) suggested he debate former President Trump one-on-one with Fox News host Sean Hannity serving as a moderator following Wednesday evening’s second GOP primary debate.
“And you know what, since the former president didn’t come here, maybe he’d be willing to do one with you and I,” DeSantis told Hannity during Fox Business Network’s post-debate coverage from the spin room in Simi Valley, Calif. “I think he owes it to our voters to come and make the case.”
Hannity asked DeSantis: “Are you now challenging … this is going to be Hannity one on one?”
“Let’s do it!” DeSantis exclaimed.
“I’d do it. I’d do anything; I’ll ask him,” said Hannity, a personal friend of Trump’s for years.
Trump, the clear front-runner for the nomination, has skipped both the Republican primary debates so far, citing his large lead in most polls and what he says is a hostile relationship with Fox, the network that has hosted and aired the events.
Fox earlier this week announced that DeSantis, who is polling ahead of most other GOP candidates in the field, would participate in a “red vs. blue state” debate in November with California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who was at Wednesday night’s GOP debate acting as a surrogate for President Biden.
“You have to come here; you have to make the case,” DeSantis said. “Nobody is entitled to anything.”
In a statement sent minutes after DeSantis’s apparent challenge to Trump, a spokesperson for the former president said: “Sorry, Ron. We’re not as thirsty and desperate like you or sleazeball partner Gavin Newsom.”