Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) called on former President Trump to join the other candidates on the debate stage, as the leading GOP contender continues to suggest the event might not be worth his time.
“Nobody’s entitled to be nominated. You got to earn it,” DeSantis said in an interview on Newsmax on Wednesday. “And I think he should show up and make his case and answer questions like the rest of us.”
“I think he ought to debate. I’m gonna debate; I’m gonna be there,” DeSantis said about the first GOP debate in August. “I think it’s a great opportunity for us to have a great discussion about the country’s future.”
Trump, who has emerged as the clear frontrunner in the Republican race, has been polling far ahead of his competitors in hypothetical primary matchups.
In a Morning Consult poll last week, Trump had the support of 56 percent of Republican primary voters surveyed. DeSantis came in second, at a distant 17 percent. Following him, Vivek Ramaswamy had 8 percent support and former Vice President Mike Pence had 7 percent support, according to the tracker.
The former president has pointed to his strong poll numbers to suggest he was inclined not to participate in at least the first two debates held by the Republican National Committee.
He has made clear, however, that he has not yet made his final decision about any of the debates. Trump also says he intends to participate in a general election debate with President Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee.
In the Newsmax interview, DeSantis defended his campaign strategy, but pushed back against the suggestion that he has grown more comfortable targeting Trump directly since the start of the race.
“When I announced my candidacy in May, I was asked questions about Trump criticizing me. I hit back very directly, but it was on substance,” DeSantis said. “What I’m not going to do is, I’m not going to attack him personally; I’m not going to call him names.”
“I’m not gonna do that. That’s just not my style, not my cup of tea,” he continued. “But we’ve been very direct. Where there’s differences on policy, we identify that, and we can let the people decide.”