Pro-DeSantis PAC Taunts Trump, Calls Him ‘Too Weak’ to Debate

Never Back Down, the super PAC boosting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) 2024 bid, dropped an ad on Wednesday taunting former President Donald Trump for refusing to commit to debate later this month.

Fox News is set to host the first GOP primary debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 23rd and has yet to receive confirmation that Trump, the frontrunner, will attend. So far, eight candidates including Trump have met RNC benchmarks to join the debate. Trump, DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Mike Pence, Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, and Doug Burgum all have made the debate stage so far.

The pro-DeSantis ad kicks off with a graphic on the screen reading, “Donald Trump used to mock Democrats for refusing to debate.”

“I hear he’s afraid to debate. Is that true? I hear he’s afraid to debate. He’s too cowardly to even show up and debate,” Trump then says in a clip.

“You’ve suggested you may skip the early Republican primary debates,” Bret Baier then asks Trump in a clip from a recent interview.

“Why would I let these people take shots at me?” Trump shoots back.

A narrator then declares, “We can’t afford a nominee who is too weak to debate.” The ad then shows old clips of Trump whining debates are “brutal.”

“We need a nominee with stamina. A nominee who’s sharp,” the narrator adds as Trump says, “Huh?”

“Republicans deserve a candidate who earns our vote. Not one who demands it. What happened to Donald Trump?” concludes the narrator.

Filings from the beginning of the month showed the Never Back Down PAC has $97 million cash on hand after spending $34 million in the first half of the year.

While DeSantis’s presidential bid remains well-funded, the latest polls show he continues to struggle. The latest YouGov/Economist and Quinnipiac polls, both out Wednesday, show Trump leading DeSantis by a staggering 39 points.

Watch the full ad above.