Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said the Republican presidential nomination has to be earned and candidates “have to show up.” His comments targeted former President Donald Trump, who said he won’t meet one of the requirements to attend the first primary debate in Milwaukee later this month.
“Look, you have to earn this nomination and you have to show up, you have to debate, you gotta be willing, you’ve got to be willing to answer questions,” DeSantis said at a campaign rally in Coralville, Iowa, on Thursday. DeSantis was asked if he believes Trump is “afraid” of his arguments and if that may be a factor as to why he refuses to take the debate stage.
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“You’ve got to be willing to defend your record, and you’ve got to articulate a vision for the future,” DeSantis said, sitting alongside his wife, Casey.
Trump said on Wednesday that he’s refusing to sign the loyalty pledge that ensures all Republican candidates will accept the eventual party nominee. It’s a new requirement from the Republican National Committee to participate in the first GOP presidential debate this month. DeSantis signed the RNC criteria this week, ensuring he’ll attend the primary debate set for Aug. 23, as he’s also met the polling and donor requirements.
“I’m proud of what we’ve done in Florida,” DeSantis continued, changing gears to tout his conservative agenda as governor. He said Florida used to be considered a swing state, but “now, people just assume it’s a deep red state. That wasn’t the case before I was there.”
Trump has cited his significant lead in the polls as justification not to take the debate stage, which has caused outrage among other Republican candidates, who have committed to signing the loyalty pledge in order to attend.
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DeSantis went on to say you have to ask yourself why you are running for president, to which he answered that he is in the race “because this country is in decline. Simply managing decline isn’t going to be accepted. We have to reverse the decline.”
“But doing that is not about me. It’s about you and it’s about the American people,” DeSantis said, adding the agenda has “to hold Biden accountable for his bad governance and his failures, but it is also going to offer the American people a positive way out of this mess, and I will do that.”
