(TheProudRepublic.com) – In a futile attempt to stay relevant as a long-shot contender in the primary field, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida expressed his view on CNN’s “State of the Union” that former President Donald Trump’s age makes him an unsuitable candidate for the presidency.
In a conversation with anchor Jake Tapper, DeSantis responded to questions about Trump’s mental fitness and potential candidacy.
Tapper expressed, “Your campaign keeps a running list and keeps tweeting a running list of Donald Trump’s fumbles and accidents and confused moments, that’s what they call them, saying this is why his handlers won’t let him debate, noting times that trump has forgot what state he is in, times he has confused Biden and Obama, confused Kristi Noem and on and on. What do you think about Donald Trump’s mental fitness? Do you think he’s too old to be president?”
DeSantis replied, “I have said publicly the president is not a job for an 80-year-old. Donald Trump will be older on July 2025 than Biden was in January 2021. But this is not the same guy as the Trump in 2015 and ’16. That guy would show up on the debate stage, he would barnstorm. Yes, he was off-color, he was edgy, but it was all part of an idea that he was really going to shake things up. Now he’s wedded to the teleprompter, he’s not willing to debate, and he’s running on many of the same things he promised to do in 2016 and didn’t deliver.”
DeSantis continued to elaborate on his concerns about Trump’s candidacy, claiming there are risks involved. “Donald Trump is a high-risk proposition as a nominee, because I think the chance of him getting elected is small. But it’s a low reward, because he’s going to be a lame duck on day one, even if he could get elected.”
In concluding remarks, DeSantis compared himself to Trump, expressing his own apparent strengths as a younger candidate. “Look, when you get to this point, the presidency is not a job for somebody that’s pushing 80 years old, I think that that’s something that has been shown with Joe Biden. Father time is undefeated. Donald Trump is not exempt from any of that. I think with somebody like me, you go in, I’m in the prime of my life, I’ll go in day one, serve two terms, deliver big results and get the country moving again. That’s what Republican voters want to see.”
In the absence of sound policies contrasting with those of the former president, DeSantis resorts to weaponizing the age factor in presidential politics, highlighting his view that the demands of the presidency require a leader in the prime of their life, a criterion he believes Trump no longer meets.
