DeSantis calls on Trump to debate one-on-one: ‘Stop being a keyboard warrior’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) called on former President Trump to debate one-on-one, challenging him to “stop being a keyboard warrior” as Trump, the GOP front-runner for 2024, has skipped the party’s presidential debates so far.

“Donald Trump wants to blame me,” DeSantis said of Florida State University’s college football team being excluded from the playoffs, talking during a Tuesday interview with host Laura Ingraham on Fox News’s “The Ingraham Angle.” 

“He also took Disney’s side against us when we stood up for the kids. He also said [former New York Gov. Andrew] Cuomo in New York did COVID better than we did, and he attacked me for being pro-life,” DeSantis said.

“Maybe that’s the reason we should have a debate on your show, Laura. Stop being a keyboard warrior and let’s step up and debate one-on-one. He’s had a lot to say about me over the last year. Say it to my face. I’m game,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis, who entered the 2024 race as Trump’s top rival, is now competing with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley for that second spot, in both key states and nationally.

They are both among the hopefuls who have qualified for the party’s fourth debate, which is set to air on NewsNation on Wednesday night from Tuscaloosa, Ala. People who want to watch the debate can click here to find NewsNation — which, like The Hill, is owned by Nexstar Media Group — in their cable market, and information on how to stream the debate.

Trump has skipped the three RNC debates so far and will not be on the stage for the fourth as DeSantis and his fellow rivals work to narrow Trump’s lead. 

The candidates have tried to use Trump’s absence against him. DeSantis said on September’s stage that the former president was “missing in action,” and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) bashed Trump for “ducking these things,” dubbing the former president as “Donald Duck.”

DeSantis’s call for a one-on-one debate against Trump comes just after he participated in a head-to-head with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, in a live debate on Fox News.

The Florida governor has also criticized Haley for not showing interest in an invite from the Fox News program to debate him.

Ingraham said Tuesday that the offer to Haley is “an open invitation.”