DeSantis Says He Hopes For Republicans To Attack Him

(TheConservativeTimes.org) – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, now presidential candidate, said that he is hoping for other Republicans to attack him during the first GOP presidential primary debate in Milwaukee, which is set to take place on August 23.

DeSantis made the statement on NewsNation’s “The Hill” when he was asked whether he expects other Republican primary candidates to target him. He said further that he will take attacks from other Republicans as a sign that he is “over the target,” saying that he is happy to hold his own against the other candidates.

DeSantis is one of several Republican candidates who have met the debate requirements to be on the debate stage on August 23. The most recent candidate to make the cut was former Vice President Mike Pence. He now joins DeSantis, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, South Carolina Senator Rick Scott, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.

Former President Donald Trump also meets the requirements to take his place on the debate stage among the other contenders. However, the former president has not yet confirmed whether or not he will participate in the debate due to being so far ahead of the other opponents.

According to RealClearPolitics, Trump has only widened his lead over the other Republican candidates. Most notably DeSantis, his fiercest contender, has declined to a meager 15.1 points while Trump has continued to climb to 54.2 points.

Whether the upcoming Republican debate will change anything electorally remains to be seen, as all the other candidates merely appear to be competing for second place. Trump has consistently dominated the GOP nomination, even amid his current legal woes, which currently entails three indictments.

One indictment is from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over the falsification of business records, the other two are federal indictments from Special Counsel Jack Smith, which pertain to the mishandling of classified documents and Trump’s alleged role in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots.

Other candidates such as Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and former Republican House Representative Mike Hurd have not made the requirements for the upcoming debate.