DeSantis hits Trump below the belt. Will this new strategy work?
by Mabinty Quarshie, National Politics Correspondent
November 03, 2023 01:21 PMFor months, Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has been more willing to attack former President Donald Trump in their escalating 2024 primary race. But this week marked a new level of just how far the Florida governor's campaign is willing to go in his battle against Trump and the rest of the GOP presidential field.
DeSantis has begun taunting Trump over skipping the Republican National Committee-sponsored primary debates in response to Trump's recent provocations. "If Donald Trump can summon the balls to show up to the debate, I'll wear a boot on my head," DeSantis told Newsmax in an interview this week. His campaign is also selling golf balls that say, "Ron DeSantis has a pair. He shows up."
The former president, in turn, has mocked DeSantis, his closest 2024 competitor, over allegations the cowboy boots the governor frequently wears while campaigning have hidden heels that boost his height. But DeSantis's willingness to hit back at Trump with references to his manhood marks a newer and riskier strategy for DeSantis ahead of next week's debate in Miami, Florida, and the Iowa caucuses in January.
The Trump campaign, in the meantime, is undeterred by DeSantis's mockery. "DeSantis’s campaign is now mired in the mud and spending their entire day responding to what we’re doing. They fell right into the trap," Steven Cheung, Trump's spokesman, told the Washington Examiner. "Meanwhile, the Trump campaign is releasing new Agenda47 policy proposals and making the case against Crooked Joe Biden. DeSantis's offering to wear a boot on his head just shows how desperate and pathetic he is. He might as well wear a dog collar with a leash and run alongside golf carts."
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/desantis-mocks-trump-below-belt