Ron DeSantis showed off his pair of… golf balls on Thursday and questioned whether Donald Trump has “the balls” to join the third Republican presidential debate next week.
In a tongue-in-cheek merchandising launch, the DeSantis campaign began selling golf balls with the slogan “Ron DeSantis has a pair, show up” in a direct mockery of the GOP front-runner.
The Sunshine State governor also brushed aside the recent brouhaha over his boots and promised to wear one on his head if the former president “can get the balls together to show up for the debate.”
“This is no time for foot fetishes. We have serious problems as a country,” DeSantis told Newsmax’s “The Balance” Thursday night, citing examples such as the border and the war in Israel.
“I know Donald Trump and a lot of his people have focused on things like footwear. I’ll tell you this. You know, if Donald Trump can muster up the guts to show up to the debate, I’ll put a boot on my head,” he continued.
The golf balls sold by the DeSantis campaign attack Donald Trump. The DeSantis campaign The Ron DeSantis campaign trolled Donald Trump with a pair of golf balls. Getty Images
“This is a moment of substance. This is a time for us to debate the issues that matter to the American people. And the question is whether you are capable of fighting for them.”
The Trump campaign responded quickly.
“Rob DeSanctimonious has been completely emasculated for wearing high-heeled men’s booties and is now a political eunuch. He’s the last person who should be talking about balls,” Jason Miller, Trump’s senior adviser, told The Post.
Trump, who is known to love hitting golf balls at his various luxury resorts, has maintained that it is not worth debating candidates who are far behind him in the polls.
He boasts a 45.9% lead over DeSantis, his closest enemy, in the latest aggregate RealClearPolitics poll.
For now, he appears prepared to headline a rally in nearby Hialeah, Florida, on Nov. 8, not far from where the Republican Party’s third rally is scheduled to be held at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami.
The two campaigns have exchanged similar insinuations in the past.
Ron DeSantis’ joke marks the latest dig at masculinity in the 2024 Republican campaign. Suzanne Cordeiro/Shutterstock
“I’m not surprised that Ron DeSantis is looking for a couple of balls,” Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, told NBC News in June, prompting a response from the DeSantis world.
Some of the former president’s allies have also taken direct aim at DeSantis’ manhood, dubbing him “Tiny D.”
During the 2016 election cycle, Trump apparently addressed questions about his own manhood from another Florida Republican: Sen. Marco Rubio.
“He referred to my hands, [suggesting] If they’re small, something else must be small,” Trump joked in a debate during a comment about Rubio.
“I guarantee you there is no problem,” added the future 45th president. “I assure.”
Ron DeSantis has insisted he wears regular boots, but rival contenders have been skeptical.
Recently, the Trump camp has focused on questions about whether DeSantis wears elevators in his shoes to make him appear taller.
“No, no. Those are just standard, off-the-shelf Lucchese boots,” DeSantis told host Patrick Bet-David on the “PBD Podcast” when asked about Internet murmurings about him wearing hikes.
Trump stirred the pot on Truth Social late last month, posting a triptych image of DeSantis and his footwear during the governor’s appearance on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
“Tell me she’s not wearing hidden heels,” one caption read.
The Trump-aligned super PAC Make America Great Again Inc. also goaded DeSantis on Wednesday with plans to give him a pair of Puerto Rican-themed boots as an early Christmas gift.
That also served as a blow accusing him of supporting statehood for Puerto Rico.
Donald Trump has poked Ron DeSantis over his boots. Suzanne Cordeiro/Shutterstock
But DeSantis is trying to paper over the punches below the belt and draw Trump into the verbal fight.
“This is a time for us to debate the issues that matter to the American people,” DeSantis continued in the Newsmax interview.
“And the question is, can they fight for them, like we’ve done in Florida, can they win those fights, like we’ve been able to do in Florida, and can they lead a better tomorrow?”
The governor of the Sunshine State accused Trump of mounting a “basement campaign” strategy similar to President Biden’s in 2020.
DeSantis’ campaign also recently launched an “accident tracker” to keep track of the former president’s verbal gaffes and glaring mishaps during the election campaign.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn