Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reportedly took aim at former President Donald Trump for skipping the second Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday night.
“Where’s Joe Biden? He’s completely missing in action from leadership. And you know who else is missing in action? Donald Trump is missing in action. He should be on this stage tonight,” DeSantis said.
“He owes it to you to defend his record where they added $7.8 trillion to the debt, that set the stage for the inflation that we have now,” he continued.
Trump, the leading candidate for the Republican nomination for president, missed the first GOP presidential debate in Milwaukee in August and the second event at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Southern California.
He has cited his lead in the polls as a justification for not joining his fellow White House candidates on stage.
DeSantis, conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum were the seven qualified candidates who took the stage on Wednesday night.
[READ MORE: DeSantis Blasts Trump for Not Attending Debate, Defending his Own Record]
