Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis recently roasted his competitor and former President Donald Trump for his failure to beat Joe Biden during the first presidential debate in 2020, declaring that the beat down left him and other supporters of Trump “speechless” via Mediaite.
In a press conference held after his own debate with California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) on Thursday, DeSantis said he’s be interested in participating in similar forums in the future because “voters need to see who you are, what you believe in, what you’ve accomplished.”
“And I do think being on a stage like that, it allows you to say. ‘Okay, who do we want in those presidential debates next September for our nominee?” continued DeSantis.
“Because if you go back to October of 2020, the first presidential debate: Joe Biden beat Donald Trump in that debate, he beat Trump in that debate! I had people at the Florida governor’s mansion, we had 50 people, we were all excited, we watch, the debate ends, and everyone is just speechless. We didn’t know what to say!”
Trump has not attended any of the Republican primary debates to date, and a representative from the Trump campaign told Mediaite on Friday that he would not be in attendance for the next one in Alabama next on December 6. DeSantis has been critical of Trump’s decision to duck the debates.
“Donald Trump is missing in action. He should be on this stage tonight,” said DeSantis at debate hosted by Fox Business in September. “He owes it to you to defend his record.”
