Advertising
Supported by
Gov. Ron DeSantis escalated his attacks on the former president after Mr. Trump bragged about debating Hillary Clinton in 2016.
By Nicolas Nehamas
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis accused former President Donald J. Trump of “cowardice” for refusing to participate in the Republican presidential debates after Trump boasted about running against Hillary Clinton in 2016 after the airing of the tape “Access Hollywood. “.
“Trump denigrates military service by saying it’s braver to debate Hillary Clinton than infantrymen suffer on the battlefield,” Clinton wrote Sunday. DeSantis, a former Navy lawyer, on the social media platform X. “Debating is not ‘courageous’; This is the least any candidate can do. On the other hand, hiding from debates is an example of cowardice. “
The Florida governor, in response to comments made through Trump (who has said he is too far ahead of his rivals in the polls to debate him), delivered a speech to New York Republicans on Saturday. In his remarks, Trump recounted how a general praised him for participating in the debate against Mrs. Clinton in 2016, even though a damaging recording of him making vulgar remarks about women had recently been made public.
Trump claimed the general told him, “Sir, I’ve been on the battlefield. The men came here to my left and to my right. Me in the hills where they killed the foot soldiers. But I think the bravest thing I’ve ever noticed was the night you put yourself on Hillary Clinton’s level after what happened.
Mr. DeSantis has often been hesitant to directly attack Mr. Trump, who remains popular with Republican voters, limiting his criticisms to certain topics such as his inability to serve two terms and his failure to achieve policy objectives like building a border wall and “draining the swamp” during his first administration. One of Mr. DeSantis’s other go-to attacks has been on Mr. Trump’s decision not to take part in the four Republican debates held so far. But calling the former president a coward represents something of an escalation for Mr. DeSantis as his campaign continues to underperform expectations.
The former president, who has a habit of inventing anecdotes, did not call the general. Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump’s campaign, said DeSantis is experiencing “a collapse of epic proportions by regurgitating Democratic talking points. “
“The fact is, Ron is blowing himself up in each and every poll, and nothing he’s done so far has replaced his almost nonexistent standing with voters,” Cheung added.
A new poll of Iowa Republicans released Monday showed that Mr. Trump had increased his lead over Mr. DeSantis to more than 30 points, with voters in the state set to decide the first G.O.P. nominating contest in roughly five weeks.
Throughout his career, Trump has demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of scandals that would have destroyed other political candidates. Although many observers even warned that the “Access Hollywood” tape would torpedo Trump for winning the 2016 election, he apologized and later called his comments “locker room talk,” the debate opposite of Mrs. Clinton.
So far, in the number one campaign of 2024, Trump’s approval score among the Republican electorate has only strengthened, even as he faces allegations in 4 felon cases.
Nicholas Nehamas is a political reporter for the Times covering Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign. Learn more about Nicolas Nehamas
Advertising