- Trump went after DeSantis for signing a six-week abortion ban
- He also joked about claims that DeSantis carries hidden lifts
- He said Haley would be creamed after Christie’s hot mic moment
Donald Trump took advantage of the freewheeling format of a televised town hall to attack his top remaining opponents, ridicule Ron DeSantis and predict the impending end of his run.
Trump even took a stab at DeSantis’ shoes, shoehorning himself in the middle of a long and nuanced answer on abortion policy in which he reiterated his support for exceptions in cases of rape, incest or the life of the mother.
“If you look at it, Ron DeSantis, I don’t know what he really believes because, you know, with a politician you never know and as far as I’m concerned he’s just another politician,” Trump said.
“But his poll numbers have dropped so much that he will drop out of the race very soon. He will come out very soon. You know, I watched him last night, he’s standing up with his shoes – his nice shoes,’ Trump said.
The line drew laughter from the crowd, including many people who said they were Trump supporters. It was a reference to claims that DeSantis wears hidden lifts in his boots.
Former President Donald Trump predicted that rival Ron DeSantis would drop out of the race “very soon” in comments at a Fox News town hall on Wednesday night.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ cowboy boots are on display as he appeared in a spin room for an interview on CNN after Wednesday night’s Republican debate in Des Moines
A close-up of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ cowboy boots, which he wore to Wednesday night’s GOP debate, which Trump derided as “nice shoes”
Trump also laughed when he called DeSantis “Ron Desanctimonious” while responding to a question about whether he would ever allow a COVID shutdown as president.
The first lockdowns occurred on his watch, but Trump noted that governors drove emergency health care policies in their states.
Trump also appeared to say that DeSantis’ problems were related to his April signing of a bill in Florida to ban abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.
“He’ll be out of the race on the inside – you know, a lot of people say in favor of New Hampshire. I don’t know if that was the reason. I hope this wasn’t the reason. I hope it’s for other reasons. I saw many more reasons why he shouldn’t be. But he’s doing very, very badly. It just happened to coincide with that, because a lot of people say a lot: if you talk about five or six weeks, a lot of women don’t know if they’ll be pregnant in five or six weeks.
Trump predicted that DeSantis, who comes in second in Iowa, would drop out before New Hampshire, saying “a lot of people” are saying that
Trump agreed that Nikki Haley would be “smoked.”
Chris Christie was caught on a hot mic predicting a Haley blowout
Trump kicked Ron DeSantis by calling him “nice shoes.”
Trump found a way to insult both Chris Christie, who announced Wednesday he would suspend his campaign, and Nikki Haley after Christie gave him the gift of a hot mic moment.
Christie was heard saying that Haley would be “smoked,” an idea that Trump endorsed.
“And he happened to say she doesn’t have what it takes. She will be creamed in the elections. And – I mean, I know her very well and I happen to believe that Chris Christie is right. That’s one of the few things he’s been right about,” Trump said.
Trump’s rivals could not defend themselves: they were debating with each other nearby.
Had Trump claimed that DeSantis “shut down his state in a very violent manner” in 2020, it was left to MacCallum to interject that “Ron DeSantis would certainly take issue with your characterization of the way he handled it.”