Navy veteran DeSantis says dodging Trump’s insults pales in comparison to military sacrifices
Ron DeSantis seemed to compare his own military service to Donald Trump’s draft evasion when asked how he would handle insults from the former president.
Speaking to Fox News Wednesday night, Florida’s governor said such jokes would pale in comparison to the hardships experienced by service personnel — with the legislator himself once serving as a Navy attorney.
In comparison, Trump dodged the Vietnam War call by claiming he was suffering from bone spurs, with DeSantis seemingly eager to highlight the ex-president’s much-derided excuse.
He told Fox he wasn’t worried about any potential insults on the campaign trail, saying: “If the sacrifice I have to make is for people to start berating me, that pales in comparison to what so many people have done for me throughout history, so that I could live in a free country.’
Ron DeSantis appeared on Fox News Wednesday night appearing to delve into Donald Trump’s draft evasion
DeSantis (left) served as a Navy attorney from 2004 to 2010: Trump evaded the draft and obtained a letter saying he had bone spurs
DeSantis responded to a question about how he would react to vicious nicknames from nameless rivals, with Donald Trump already calling him “Meatball Ron” and “Ron DeSanctimonious.”
The governor of Florida was in his sophomore year at Harvard Law School when he enlisted in the Navy in 2004.
After graduation, he was sent to Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida as a prosecutor, before being sent to Guantanamo shortly afterwards.
He spent at least six months in the Cuban base between March 2006 and January 2007 and his main role was that of prosecutor.
DeSantis was then deployed to Iraq, where he worked as an adviser to a US Navy SEAL commander who was working in the Fallujah and Ramadi areas.
He left the Navy in 2010, having received at least 10 honors and awards for his service, and went straight into politics.
Meanwhile, Trump secured four deferments from his draft for the 1969 Vietnam War before finally getting a medical exemption for his bone spurs.
The daughters of the Queens foot doctor who diagnosed Trump told them The New York Times that their father, who died in 2007, diagnosed bone spurs as a “favor” to his father Fred Trump.
Questioned about the waiver, Trump said in 2016 that he had “got a letter — a very strong letter” declaring him unfit for service.
Trump mocked DeSantis campaign launch and released video referring to him as an impostor
Trump, who sees DeSantis as his biggest rival, has not held back with his insults: He regularly calls the father-of-three “DeSanctimonious” and privately calls him “Meatball Ron” – an apparent dig at his appearance.
donald trump jr. called DeSantis “DeSaster” on Wednesday.
Asked on Fox about the possible nicknames and insults, DeSantis said he wasn’t concerned.
“I’ve been called anything but a child of God,” he told host Trey Gowdy.
“So I’m not surprised — you can call me whatever you want, just make sure you call me a winner because that’s what we’ve done in the state of Florida and that’s exactly what we’re doing nationally — not just at the elections, but actually implement all this great policy.’
DeSantis continued, “There will be slings and arrows, but I’m a big boy, I can handle it.”
“There are many people who have given much more so that this country can be free.
“You can see their tombstones in places like Arlington National Cemetery.
“So if the sacrifice I have to make is for people to call me names, it pales in comparison to what so many people throughout history have done for me so that I could live in a free country.”
Trump unveiled a new attack ad on Wednesday, calling DeSantis an impostor
The subtle reference to Trump evading draft came when Trump released an attack ad against DeSantis, calling him an impostor.
“Why should we ever settle for Trump imposters?” a voiceover asked, as footage was shown of a July 2018 video of DeSantis encouraging his daughter to build a wall and read about Trump.
DeSantis filmed the 2018 video while campaigning for governor as a sign of his allegiance to Trump.
Trump’s support is widely believed to have helped DeSantis win his gubernatorial election.
“There’s only one that can make America great again from day one,” the clip concluded.
Polls show Trump is well ahead of DeSantis among Republican voters, but experts have emphasized that anything could happen between now and next July.
That’s when the Republican nominee will be named at the party’s annual conference in Milwaukee.