Florida Governor and GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis responded to recent comments from Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) criticizing the former House member as not being at the same level as Donald Trump to be president.
During the recent interview with Fox News, McCarthy said he believes Trump will be Republican nominee for president.
"President Trump is stronger today than he was in 2016 or 2020, and there's a reason why. They saw the policies of what he was able to do with America. Putting America first," McCarthy said.
McCarthy said any DeSantis efforts with some House Republicans to have a government shutdown at the end of September will not work.
"President Trump is beating Biden right now in the polls...I served with Ron DeSantis, he’s not at the same level as President Trump by any shape or form. He would not have gotten elected without President Trump's endorsement,” McCarthy continued.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy: “President Trump is stronger today than he was in 2016 or 2020… I served with Ron DeSantis, he’s not at the same level.. by any shape or form.” pic.twitter.com/oRi6LOzgv4
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) September 17, 2023
"Donald Trump was instrumental in him earning that Speaker’s gavel, and they worked hand-in-glove really throughout his whole presidency, they were on the same team on every major spending bill that came down the pike, and they ended up together adding $7.8 trillion to our national debt," responded DeSantis on Monday. "Never in a four-year period has that much been added than what they did together," DeSantis noted.
"And so, [McCarthy] said that we’re different," DeSantis continued in his response. "We are different, because in Florida we run budget surpluses, we’ve paid down almost 25 percent of our state’s debt just since I’ve been governor," he added. "All the debt, all the way up for all of Florida’s history, we’ve knocked off almost 25 percent of it. So it’s a much different approach to where we’re doing it right. We have the number one-rated economy in the country, we’ve cut taxes, we’ve expanded school choice, and we’ve delivered in a way that has made the state sustainable," said DeSantis.
"But I’m not somebody who’s ever going to be the favorite of the D.C. establishment. You know what? I wear that as a badge of honor," DeSantis concluded.
Trump continues to lead the GOP primary field by a large margin, according to current polls. The RealClearPolitics polling average has Trump in first place at 56.6 percent, DeSantis in second at 12.7 percent, and Vivek Ramaswamy in third at 7.2 percent.
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