Rivalry between Trump and DeSantis deepens with duelling New Hampshire campaign events
- The two Republican White House candidates mocked each other with DeSantis vowing to ‘actually’ build the US-Mexico border wall Trump failed to complete
- Trump accused Ron DeSantis of supporting cuts to Social Security, Medicare and other entitlement programmes as a way to tame federal spending
Addressing a town hall in Hollis, DeSantis vowed to “actually” build the US-Mexico border wall that Trump tried but failed to complete as president. He also pledged to tear down Washington’s traditional power centres in ways that Trump fell short.
Beyond the rhetoric, the conflicting events showed each candidate’s evolving strategy. DeSantis took extensive audience questions – a trademark in New Hampshire politics that he eschewed during his previous visit to the state, drawing criticisms that he was stilted and overly scripted.
Trump, meanwhile, offered a freewheeling speech for more than hour. He did not take questions in Concord, and reporters covering the event were confined to a pen, chaperoned to the bathroom and told they could not speak to attendees in the conference centre ballroom or even in the hallways. But the former president answered questions at a subsequent stop in Manchester, where he opened his New Hampshire campaign office.
“He didn’t drain it. It’s worse today than it’s ever been,” DeSantis said. He added that such promises don’t go far enough because a subsequent president “can just refill it.”