(LifeSiteNews) — Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday challenged former U.S. President and Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump to a one-on-one debate, arguing Trump “owes it to our voters.”
DeSantis made the remarks in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity following the second of two GOP primary debates Wednesday night, The Daily Wire reported.
The Florida governor, who trails Trump nationally but has held on tight to the runner-up position, is widely judged to have won the debate. Trump has refused to participate in the debates outright, arguing that his supremacy in the polls makes debating unnecessary.
But DeSantis, who has already agreed to debate California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom (who insists he isn’t running for president in 2024, though some political observers have their doubts) in a one-on-one session moderated by Hannity in November, is arguing that voters deserve to see Trump defend his vision.
READ: DeSantis and Newsom agree to debate in November
“Since the former president didn’t come here, maybe he’d be willing to do [a debate] with you and I,” DeSantis told Hannity on Wednesday. “I think he owes it to our voters to come and make the case.”
“You’re now challenging, so this is going to be Hannity one-on-one debate central?” the Fox host said.
“Let’s do it,” DeSantis answered. “You know, you can say, ‘Oh, there’s some poll months before’ – no. You gotta make the case. You owe it to the voters.”
Let’s do it.
Donald Trump owes it to our voters to come and make the case. pic.twitter.com/I4aiwDY805
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) September 28, 2023
DeSantis’ challenge comes after he publicly called out the president during the debate.
According to DeSantis, the former president “owes it to [voters] to defend his record, where they added $7.8 trillion to the debt that set the stage for the inflation that we have,” The Daily Wire noted.
The presidential hopeful, who said Trump was “missing in action” at the debate and “should be on the stage tonight,” also took a swipe at the former president for his criticisms of DeSantis’ moves to enact pro-life protections at the state level.
READ: DeSantis rejects Trump’s claim of pro-lifers costing GOP votes as ex-president misses second debate
While Trump has dodged any commitment to a nationwide abortion restriction, DeSantis has pledged to sign a law restricting the practice after 15 weeks. He has already signed a tougher measure to ban abortions after a baby’s heartbeat can be detected – about six weeks gestation – in the Sunshine State.
DeSantis said he wants Trump to “look into the eyes” of “people who have been fighting this [pro-life] fight for a long time” and explain his remarks “that pro-life protections are somehow a ‘terrible’ thing.”