Despite announcing that he will skip the first Republican primary debate Wednesday night, former President Donald Trump sent his surrogates to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the debate will take place. According to Politico, the focus of those staffers, including Chris LaCivita, Jason Miller, and Steven Cheung, are schoolroom attacks on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is currently polling in second behind Trump.
Those staffers held a dinner gathering with prominent journalists, including CNN’s Dana Bash and NBC News’ Kristen Welker, at a steakhouse named “Rare” on Tuesday night, Politico reported. Incidentally, DeSantis staffers also happened to be at the same restaurant.
Trump staffers at the dinner event handed out bingo cards targeting DeSantis. Two squares on the bingo card, “Dee-Santis” and “Duh-Santis,” mocked how DeSantis has pronounced his own name differently. Others, such as “Ron Defends Slavery,” “Flip Flops On Social Security… Again,” “Dismisses Poll,” and “Wipes Snot,” were meant to ridicule the Florida governor’s policies and actions.
The staffers also handed out pudding snack packs, which were a reference to DeSantis’ reportedly eating a chocolate pudding with three of his fingers on a private plane traveling from Tallahassee to Washington, D.C., in March 2019.
Trump has bashed DeSantis ever since the governor entered the presidential race, claiming DeSantis is “disloyal” and would not have been elected governor without his endorsement. Trump also referred to DeSantis using various derogatory nicknames such as “Ron DeSanctimonious” and “Meatball Ron.”
Politico reported that members of the press present at the dinner also included Shane Goldmacher, Bob Costa, Fin Gomez, Dasha Burns, Rachel Scott, Rick Klein, Josh Dawsey, Rob Crilly, Mario Parker, and David Chalian.
DeSantis press secretary Jeremy Redfern criticized Trump’s efforts to win over the mainstream media at the event, posting on X that “Ron DeSantis has always fought the Establishment and won. This fight will be no different.”
Trump had announced before Tuesday’s dinner gathering that he would be skipping the Republican presidential primary debates.
“The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had,” Trump explained on his social media site Truth Social. “I will therefore not be doing the debates.”
“Why would I allow people at 1 or 2 percent and zero percent to be hitting me with questions all night?” the former president said in a June interview with Fox News host Bret Baier, who will be serving as a moderator in tonight’s debate.
Trump has reportedly taped an interview with Tucker Carlson that is expected to air around the time of the debate Wednesday night.