Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took his clearest shot yet at former President Donald Trump during Wednesday’s debate.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie got the ball rolling by arguing that Trump should be on the debate stage to answer for the debt accumulated under his administration.
DeSantis jumped on the bandwagon.
“You know who else is missing in action? Donald Trump is missing in action. He should be on this stage tonight. 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,” DeSantis said. (RELATED: ‘Do You Realize How Absurd That Sounds?’: Byron Donalds Spars With Chuck Todd Over Trump’s Debt Ceiling Comments)
Trump signed bipartisan COVID-19 relief which caused a spike in federal debt during his time in office, according to WRAL. Trump’s first-year tax cuts increased the debt by roughly $1.9 trillion over 10 years and Trump hiked annual spending from $3.85 trillion to $4.6 trillion in 2020 prior to coronavirus-related expenditures, according to the Congressional Budget Office and Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, cited by the Washington Examiner.
President Joe Biden has claimed that his administration reduced the deficit but failed to mention the debt was reduced after COVID-19 stimulus checks ended and because of the rise in tax revenue from inflation.