Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis expressed outrage at the insults of former President Donald Trump at New Hampshire City Hall on Friday.
The moderator asked DeSantis how he would react if Trump started attacking and demeaning him during the debate. DeSantis said he believed it was against the integrity of the Oval Office to speak ill of him. (Related article: Joe Rogan, Ron DeSantis says he’s ‘messed up’ Florida record, ‘couldn’t beat’ Trump)
“So here’s the problem. These insults are so bogus. These insults are for young people. That’s not what a great nation should be doing. That’s not what the president of the United States should be doing.”
He said he would rather spend his time discussing the “problem” than derailing into a series of personal attacks.
Asked about the possibility of Trump being insulted during the debate, DeSantis said:
“These insults are juvenile.
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) August 5, 2023
“I don’t mean to insult anyone, their looks, their clothes, or anything like that. I wouldn’t want to teach my kids to treat people that way,” he said.
DeSantis said he supports Trump but has disagreements with him.
“He said he was going to drain the swamp. He didn’t drain the swamp, he didn’t even close it. You couldn’t even fire Mr. Fauci? So now you’re going to drain the swamp?
“He said Mexico is going to pay for the border wall. Can you see the border secured? In the same way that he said he would serve as a prosecutor, he also said he was going to imprison Hillary,” DeSantis added.
The Republican nominee also lashed out at Trump’s spending, accusing him of raising the nation’s debt by $8 trillion and reneging on his promise to “get the national debt to zero.”
“He has done more in the last four years and increased economic growth than any previous president. That’s the record we should be talking about,” he added.
He warned Republicans against actions and antics that would alienate moderate voters.
“If we act like that, we will lose,” he said.
He said those voters might not like the direction the U.S. is headed, but he would not vote for a candidate like Trump.
“There are millions of voters who don’t like what Biden is doing to this country. They don’t like the way the country is going. So let’s get better, let’s look higher, and set good standards for our kids to follow,” DeSantis said.
