Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis summed up his presidential rival’s choice to opt-out of debates with a slam against the “entitled” move.
“…Trump and DC insiders feel he is entitled to your vote.”
(Video: Fox News)
The elephant in the room for the GOP’s first primary debate continued to be the absence of one, as former President Donald Trump cemented his position on not attending. Monday, the governor was asked by Fox News host and debate moderator Martha MacCallum about that and his inability to confront the president directly over lobbed attacks.
“Everybody should debate,” replied DeSantis unequivocally. “Everybody has a responsibility to earn people’s votes. Nobody is entitled to anything in this world, less of all the Republican nomination for president.”
“So, I’m gonna be there. I’m gonna be making the case and this is really a great opportunity because I don’t think very many people over this summer have been following it that closely,” he suggested, potentially referencing the poll numbers that have weighed heavily in Trump’s favor. “I think this is gonna be the first time where candidates are gonna be able to speak unfiltered to a large number of Americans.”
To that point, it had been reported that of ABC, CBS and NBC’s coverage from Jan. 1 to July 31 on their evening broadcasts, nearly three-quarters of the airtime had been allotted to Trump with the remaining time divvied up to nine members of the GOP field. Falling in second on coverage, DeSantis had only 126 minutes compared to Trump’s 664, and both had overwhelmingly negative coverage.
A campaign representative for DeSantis supported the governor’s position on the president’s campaign while also doubling down on a dig from the governor from over the weekend. Speaking with the New York Post, the unnamed individual said, “Donald Trump and some congressional endorsers are ‘listless vessels.’ Why? Because Trump and DC insiders feel he is entitled to your vote.”
The line from DeSantis during an interview with The Florida Standard’s Editor in Chief Will Witt was interpreted differently depending on the audience as many took the remark out of its full context.
Tackling the issue of being labeled a RINO, the governor had said in part, “So it’s just been totally detached from any type of substance and ultimately a movement can’t be about the personality of one individual. The movement has gotta be about what you are trying to achieve on behalf of the American people. And that’s gotta be based in principle because if you’re not rooted in principle, if all we are is listless vessels…just supposed to follow, you know, whatever happens to come down the pike on Truth Social every morning, that’s not gonna be a durable movement.”
Team Trump triggered by DeSantis ‘listless vessels’ dig, cites Hillary in demanding apology https://t.co/EMy22donlW via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) August 20, 2023
MacCallum went on to ask about other attacks, in particular from former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to which DeSantis responded, “Well, look, bring it on. People can do what they want. I can tell you this though, Martha. Of anyone on that stage, I’m the only one whose sole purpose is running to be the 47th president of the United States and to reverse this country’s decline. I’m not running to be vice president. I’m not running to be in the cabinet. And I’m not running to be a contributor on cable news. We’re running to win, and we’re gonna show people that we’ll get the job done.”
Ultimately, on Trump, the governor said of voters, “I don’t think they’re gonna look kindly on somebody that thinks they don’t have to earn it.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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