Former President Donald Trump's insults are "phony" and do not reflect how a president should act, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, often a target of the former president's insults and name-calling, said in a New Hampshire "Conversation with the Candidate" town hall this week.
"These insults are so phony," the Florida Republican said, in response to a question from an audience member, reported ABC affiliate WMUR in Manchester, New Hampshire. "These insults are juvenile. That is not a way a great nation should be conducting itself. That is not the way the president of the United States should be conducting himself."
Trump has often called DeSantis "Ron DeSanctimonious," sometimes switching out "Ron" with "Rob."
DeSantis added that he would not insult someone's looks or how they dress, as he "wouldn't teach my kids to treat people like that."
The governor said he does appreciate many of the "great things" Trump did while president. However, he said he doesn't think Trump fulfilled all of his campaign promises in his first administration, even though he's running his 2024 campaign based on things he promised to do back in 2016 but never accomplished.
"He said he was going to drain the swamp. He did not drain the swamp. Not even close," said the governor, pointing out that he "couldn't even fire" retired National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci.
"Now you're going to drain the swamp?" said DeSantis. "Give me a break."
The governor also pushed at Trump on his comments about the southern border and the national debt.
"He said Mexico was going to pay for the border wall. Do you see the border secured?" asked DeSantis. "Then he actually said he was going to eliminate the national debt. He added $8 trillion to the debt."
He added that people won't flock to Trump because they're disappointed in President Joe Biden, as they won't pick a candidate who is behaving like Trump.
"There are millions of voters out there who do not like what Biden is doing to this country," DeSantis said. "They do not like the direction this country is going in, but they are not going to sign up for a candidate who is behaving like that. So let's be better. Let's look higher, and let's set a good standard for our children to follow."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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