DeSantis group trolls Trump for being too WEAK to debate in new ad as former president hints he’ll skip Milwaukee showdown
- The first Republican debate for the 2024 candidates is scheduled for next Wednesday
- Donald Trump has hinted he won’t attend, but has yet to reveal his plan
- On Wednesday, DeSantis backers released an ad labeling him “weak”
An outside group that supported Ron DeSantis’ bid for the Republican presidential nomination accused Donald Trump of being too weak to debate in a new ad Wednesday.
The first Republican debate for the 2024 candidates will take place next week.
And the former president and clear frontrunner has yet to announce whether or not he will participate.
“We can’t afford a nominee too weak to debate,” the narrator says in the ad from Never Back Down, a super PAC that supports DeSantis.
Republicans need a candidate with stamina.
“We deserve a candidate who deserves our vote – not someone asking for it.”
An ad from Never Back Down, a super-PAC that supports Ron DeSantis, uses Donald Trump’s own words against him, claiming he is too weak to participate in next week’s debate
Trump has said he will announce his plans for the debate, which will be held next Wednesday, sometime this week.
But as the favorite for the nomination, leading by a whopping 45 points in polls, he knows he’ll be the main target and rivals will try to use his star power to elevate himself.
Trump has also said he will not sign a pledge — required by the debate organizers — to support the eventual nominee, whoever that may be.
Opponents have been busy luring him into the debate, which will be hosted by Fox News in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The loudest anti-Trump voice in the race is former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. He said Trump was a “coward” when he went out.
The new ad uses Trump’s own words against him.
“I hear he’s afraid to debate,” he says in an old clip from past campaigns.
In another soundbite, he adds, “He’s too cowardly to even show up and debate.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is struggling to gain traction in the race and, like other candidates, needs a good debate to win the front runner
Our latest poll shows the strength of Trump’s lead. In Iowa, he extended his lead over DeSantis, who dropped nine points from April to August
The 30-second ad then switches to Trump talking about the upcoming confrontation and why he might skip it.
“Why would I let these people shoot at me?” he asks.
Campaign experts generally agree, pointing out that other candidates have more to gain.
And he was even able to divert attention by timing his arraignment in Fulton County, Georgia, on charges of voter fraud, on the same day.
“As the polls reflect, the GOP base is fully behind President Trump,” Senator Joe Gruters, a former Florida GOP chairman, told NBC News.
“If scheduling his arrival in Fulton County on the same night as the debate further highlights the political persecution, I’m all for it.”