DeSantis hits Trump on ‘bravery’, border wall and debates in CNN town hall

Ron DeSantis mocked Donald Trump for comparing his “bravery” in debating Hillary Clinton after the Access Hollywood tape scandal to the military service of Americans killed in conflicts.

The Florida governor went on the front foot and attacked the former president during a CNN town hall event in Iowa on Tuesday night.

“When he says that debating Hillary Clinton after Access Hollywood was like an example of bravery that some general told him was more significant than soldiers who fight and die in war that is offensive and wrong,” Mr DeSantis told the audience at Grand View University in Des Moines. The Access Hollywood tape revealing Mr Trump boasting about sexually assaulting women emerged in the run-up to the 2016 election and nearly derailed his campaign. He later dismissed his boasts as “locker-room talk”.

Mr DeSantis also slammed Mr Trump for avoiding any of the Republican debates held in 2023.

“Debating is the bare minimum that a political candidate should do, and I will note that Donald Trump has refused to debate throughout this campaign,” he told CNN host Jake Tapper.

“He doesn’t think he owes it to Iowans or Granite Staters to show up and debate and answer questions….nobody is entitled to this nomination you have to earn this nomination and part of the way you do it is that you show up, you answer people’s questions and you shake their hands.”

And he added: “I am not running for me – this is about your issues, your family’s issues and the future of this country.”

Mr DeSantis was also asked how he would handle the border crisis differently from Mr Trump.

“I am going to build the border wall,” he replied as he said that Mr Trump got distracted from that campaign promise.

“So I will get the job done. The talk is cheap and I’m sick of Republicans always using this issue every election cycle to try to get donations,” Mr DeSantis said. “We are going to bring the issue to a conclusion.”

Mr DeSantis also defended his proposal to make it legal to shoot drug smugglers at the US border.

“The drug cartels are invading our country and poisoning our people and killing our people by the tens of thousands. Not only do you have the right as president, you have a responsibility to fight back on behalf of the people of this country,” he said.

He said his administration would not be “willy nilly” shooting at people but would designate the cartels as foreign terrorist organisations and would use intelligence to attack them.

He also rejected the polls that have shown him widely trailing Mr Trump as the expected GOP nominee.

“Iowa voters will choose not pundits and polls I am sick of these polls haven’t we learned as Republicans, we were supposed to have a red wave in November 2022.”

He continued: “You have the opportunity to make this decision, do not let the media choose your candidate, a pundit chose your candidate … chose a candidate that is going to represent your values, I think that I am that guy.”

Mr DeSantis also said that if he had to choose between conflicts, he would support Israel in its fight with Hamas over Ukraine in its war with Russia.

“For me, that’s an easy answer, the State of Israel is our strongest ally in the Middle East.”

Mr DeSantis said that Israel had the “whole world” up against them and relied on the US as its strongest backer while calling on European countries to be the ones to arm Ukraine against Vladimir Putin.

The Florida governor was also asked why he should be the candidate from the GOP debates to take on Mr Trump.

“I am the only one running who can beat Trump one on one. You cannot win with a slice of the party you need broad support. We need a change agent in Washington, not someone to go up there and be a part of the establishment,” he claimed.

Mr DeSantis went on to criticise Mr Trump’s changing position on abortion, claiming that he is “flip-flopping on the right to life.”

The governor said that in 2020 Mr Trump “said that all life is a gift from God” but has now attacked those states “that have enacted protections — like heartbeat bills — as being a terrible, terrible thing.”

“Was he not being honest in January of 2020? Or has he just flipped his position to now what he’s saying in 2023?” Mr DeSantis said of Mr Trump. “I think that’s a huge problem because we know people come at this from different angles ... but you should be consistent on your beliefs.”