DeSantis goes after Nikki
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley pointed fingers and compared their respective political records during Wednesday’s fourth Republican debate — while ducking the mudslinging and character attacks from the other two candidates on stage.
DeSantis made an aggressive start to his evening at the Moody Music Building in Tuscaloosa, Ala., by calling for the eventual GOP presidential nominee “to be willing to stand strong” and “beat” the opposition.
“You have other candidates up here like Nikki Haley. She caves anytime the left comes after [her] — anytime the media [attacks],” he said, adding later that she would also “cave to those big donors when it counts.”
No more Mr. Sunshine
DeSantis repeatedly sought to contrast his record with Haley on education, economics and individual liberties, while teaming up at times with biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to continue the attack on Haley.
The highlight — or lowlight — of a tumultuous first hour was Christie going off on Ramaswamy after the 38-yearold said the former ambassador to the UN couldn’t name any Ukrainian provinces.
“This is the fourth debate, the fourth debate that you will be voted in the first 20 minutes as the most obnoxious blowhard in America,” Christie said.
“We’re now 25 minutes into this debate and he has insulted Nikki Haley’s basic intelligence, not her positions, her basic intelligence,” Christie went on. “She is a smart accomplished woman. You should stop insulting her.”
“First of all, Chris Christie also doesn’t know what provinces in eastern Ukraine he actually wants to fight for,” Ramaswamy shot back, before suggesting that the bulk of Christie’s “foreign policy experience was closing a bridge from New Jersey to New York.
“So do everybody a favor, just walk yourself off that stage, enjoy a nice meal and get the hell out of this race,” he said.
The debate calmed slightly in the second hour, during which DeSantis received his biggest cheer of the night over a question about hormone treatments and gender-reassignment surgeries for minors.
“You do not have the right to abuse your kids,” he said in response to Christie saying he would defer to parents on the issue.
“This is cutting off their genitals. This is mutilating these minors. These are irreversible procedures.
“I signed legislation in Florida banning the mutilation of minors because it is wrong,” he added. “Nikki disagrees with me. She opposes the bill that we did to ban that.”
“I do not,” Haley interjected. “You said the law shouldn’t get involved with it,” DeSantis replied.
“This flows from what she did as governor of South Carolina, you know, they had a bill to try to say that men shouldn’t go into girls’ bathrooms, and she killed that bill, and she bragged that she killed that bill, even to this day she bragged that.”
Throwin’ book at Viv
DeSantis also roped in Ramaswamy and Haley in his attack on corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments.
“Vivek, he wrote a book talking about ESG and these woke corporations and BlackRock,” he said. “The idea that I want to do that — in Florida, they were managing part of our pension and then when they did the ESG, I took $2 billion away from BlackRock. We took action.”
“The next president of the United States needs to be able to go to that office on Day One and end ESG — and the fact of the matter is we know from her history Nikki will cave to those big donors when it counts,” he added.