DeSantis slams Trump for refusing to face voters in Iowa: 'He’s not willing to do that'

29 December 2023

During a recent interview with CBS News, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took a rare jab at former President Donald Trump for his lack of presence on the campaign trail.

DeSantis, who is currently jockeying with former UN ambassador Nikki Haley for first place among the non-Trump field of 2024 Republican presidential candidates, suggested to CBS News political reporter Aaron Navarro that his rival was too scared to speak face to face with voters in a forum he doesn't control.

"[Trump] was going to do an event in northwest Iowa, and the university said, if you do it you have to answer questions from students, and he wouldn't, he's not willing to do that," DeSantis said.

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DeSantis has been slowly escalating his attacks on the former president whose coattails he rode to two successful campaigns for the Florida governorship. During a December campaign event following his debate with California Governor Gavin Newsom (D), DeSantis called Trump a "keyboard warrior" who was too afraid to publicly debate his opponents.

""He's doing it behind his keyboard and on his social media site, which a lot of people aren't seeing, and the media's not really amplifying it," DeSantis said. "Get out of your dungeon and get off the keyboard, stand up on the debate stage, and let's go."

The remark comes as DeSantis is struggling to resurrect his floundering campaign in the aftermath of Haley's gaffe about the Civil War in which she failed to mention slavery as the root cause. The Florida governor's endeavor for the White House has been plagued by a wave of exits from an allied super PAC and persistent financial difficulties that led to him relocating staff from Florida to Iowa. DeSantis has gone all-in on the Hawkeye State, spending nearly $300,000 on TV ad spots just in the last week.

The Iowa Republican Caucuses will take place on January 15.

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