Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday pursued former President Donald Trump, his primary Republican rival, to Iowa City Hall the night before, claiming the former president engaged in “massive gaslighting.”
As with the previous four debates, Trump also skipped the fifth Republican primary debate in Iowa that same night, opting instead for a debate at Town Hall and a mostly friendly debate. answered questions from the crowd.
“I don't think there were many serious questions asked,” DeSantis said in a statement. MSNBC interview.
He criticized former President Trump, claiming that he lied about his coronavirus policy.
“He hasn't had any discussions yet. I think that's because he knows he can get away with that kind of gaslighting in that venue,” DeSantis said. “He knows we won’t get away with this just by being on the table.”
Florida's governor criticized Trump for his handling of the pandemic, claiming Trump had boasted of saving lives by shutting down the economy but has now changed his tune.
“He used to brag about shutting down the world's largest economy in 2020. He often said he saved millions of lives because of it,” DeSantis said. “Now he knows that Republican voters think it was a mistake, but he can't admit he made a mistake.”
“I think as a leader, if something doesn’t go well, you correct course,” he continued. “And voters appreciate that. He feels good when he admits he was wrong. Donald Trump can't do that.”
DeSantis also questioned Trump's health and leadership as he pitched himself as the best Republican candidate in 2024.
“If you go back to the first Trump-Biden debate in October 2020, when Donald Trump was the sitting president, I think it's pretty healthy that Biden beat him in that debate,” DeSantis said. Ta. “So we're in a situation where we're three or four years out now. I mean, obviously Donald Trump isn't the Trump of 2016. When he gets off the teleprompter, there's going to be a lot of mistakes. Stream of consciousness. There are a lot of things like that.”
Mr. DeSantis has fallen behind Mr. Trump in opinion polls and has failed to capture the high expectations he had initially had. He has focused most of his campaign funds in Iowa, where the caucuses are just days away. Despite this, DeSantis ranks third in Iowa, behind Trump and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.
According to average Hill/Decision Desk polls, Mr. Trump has an approval rating of about 54%, Ms. Haley has an approval rating of 18%, and Ms. DeSantis has an approval rating of 17%.
But DeSantis dismissed those numbers, insisting caucus day would paint a positive picture for his campaign.
“The good news is that once people can actually go and vote, things will become clearer and we can take the race from there,” he said. “So we're looking forward to Monday night. We did it the right way.”
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