DeSantis on Trump’s attacks: ‘Step on stage and do it to my face’

Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis railed against former President Trump’s social media attacks, arguing the former president should “step up on stage and do it to my face,” after he skipped Wednesday night’s GOP presidential debate.  

Trump’s “had a lot to say about me on social media, really, since 2022, right before the midterm election,” DeSantis said Thursday in an interview with Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer. “He started attacking me when I was — well we all Republicans were supposed to be united for a red wave. No, he tried to attack me, and he’s been doing it a lot. You know, it’s one thing to do it behind the keyboard; step up on stage and do it to my face.” 

DeSantis’s comment comes on the heels of Wednesday’s GOP presidential debate, where the Florida governor held nothing back when calling Trump out for skipping the debate and later suggested he debate the former president one-on-one. 

“Donald Trump is missing in action. He should be on this stage tonight,” DeSantis said during the debate, slamming both current and former presidents. 

DeSantis told the audience Trump “owes it to voters” to defend his record “where they added $7.8 trillion to the debt that set the stage for the inflation” currently facing the country. 

Speaking Thursday with Hemmer, DeSantis echoed this argument, claiming the presidency is “something you have to earn” and that “nobody is entitled” to the position. 

“So, he owes it to the voters to defend his record, to defend the decisions he’s made, and also to defend why is he running on the same program in 2016, that he did not actually implement, for example, draining the swamp,” DeSantis said. “He didn’t fire Christopher Wray, he didn’t fire Anthony Fauci, he didn’t do anything to clean house.” 

Following the debate, DeSantis floated the idea of debating Trump one-on-one with Fox News host Sean Hannity serving as moderator. In a statement minutes later, a spokesperson for the former president said, “Sorry, Ron. We’re not as thirsty and desperate like you or sleazeball partner Gavin Newsom,” in reference to the “red vs. blue state” debate between DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) slated for November. 

Trump, the current front-runner in the GOP presidential field, skipped both the first and second debates, citing his lead in the polls. Trump instead held a rally Wednesday night at a nonunion plant in Michigan with current and former union autoworkers.

Despite his absence at the debates, Trump has continued to attack DeSantis and other GOP rivals through the social media platform Truth Social. 

Following Wednesday’s debate, Trump posted a series of past videos of DeSantis appearing to praise the former president, writing “Thank you, Ron DeSanctimonious!” a nickname he has repeatedly used to refer to and mock the Florida governor on social media.

DeSantis also took the chance to slam President Biden while speaking with Hemmer, calling his family “potentially the most corrupt presidential family in history.”

House GOP leaders have launched an impeachment inquiry into Biden following months-long investigations into Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and his foreign business dealings.

Investigations from House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio.) have probed into Hunter Biden’s time on the board of a Ukrainian energy company while his father was vice president.

These investigations have not found Biden directly financially benefited from his son’s business dealings or proved that he made any policy decisions because of them.

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee held its first hearing Thursday to examine the basis for an impeachment inquiry into Biden, where they were slated to hear testimony from several witnesses.