Would Trump or DeSantis win a debate? Twitter users muse after Crist clash

Speculation over how Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis would fare in a debate with former President Donald Trump has emerged following the governor’s debate with his Democratic opponent Charlie Crist.

DeSantis faced off against Crist, himself a former Republican governor of Florida before turning Democrat, on Monday night in the only debate between the candidates before the November 8 election. While a question concerning his potential candidacy for president in 2024 went unanswered by DeSantis, online commentators could not resist speculating about a matchup between him and the former president.

Neither Trump nor DeSantis have officially announced that they are running for president, although they are widely considered to be the Republican frontrunners. Polls have suggested that a hypothetical race against the former president could be difficult for DeSantis to win outside of Florida.

The governor’s debate with Crist on Monday prompted some to predict that Trump would easily defeat DeSantis if the pair were to meet in a GOP primary debate.

“I don’t think Trump will run in 2024,” Republican political consultant Liz Mair tweeted. “But if he does, can you imagine how he’d bludgeon DeSantis in a debate after seeing that? Yikes… I think JD Vance might even be able to bludgeon DeSantis pretty hard based on tonight.”

“Donald Trump called @marcorubio ‘Little Marco’ on a debate stage,” tweeted web developer Matt Ortega. “He’s going to murder Ron DeSantis if DeSantis can’t handle ‘will you serve a full term’ without turning into a bobblehead.”

“Desantis would piss his pants on a debate stage with Trump,” pundit and former federal prosecutor Ron Filipkowski tweeted. “Reason #473 why he will never run against him.”

“Trump would destroy DeSantis in a debate,” tweeted Michael Starr Hopkins, who serves as senior adviser to the Crist campaign. “Just like Charlie Crist is doing right now.”

“I don’t think Crist is wiping the floor with DeSantis or anything,” Republican political strategist Sarah Longwell tweeted. “But I also don’t think DeSantis is particularly strong. A good reminder that, for all the hype, he’s still untested nationally. Not sure how well he’d fare toe-to-toe with Trump.”

“DeSantis will steamroll Crist but Trump will 100% steamroll DeSantis especially if there are TV debates,” tweeted writer Ross Barkan. “DeSantis won’t know what to do with himself after 2 hours of Trump.”

“One big takeaway from this debate is that DeSantis is FAR better when there isn’t someone onstage to argue with him,” Florida Politics reporter Jesse Scheckner tweeted. “The opposite is true for Trump.”

Neither Trump nor DeSantis have publicly commented on the possibility of facing each other in 2024. DeSantis has rarely mentioned the former president while campaigning, while Trump has repeatedly taken credit for the governor being elected in 2018.

On Sunday, Trump weighed in on DeSantis’ endorsement of Republican Colorado Senate candidate Joe O’Dea, whom the former president has called a “RINO,” or “Republican in name only.” Trump described the endorsement as “A BIG MISTAKE” in a Truth Social post.

Dr. Michael McDonald, a University of Florida professor who specializes in U.S. elections, said that Trump’s pushback “took way too long to happen” in a tweet.

“The easiest way for Trump to kneecap DeSantis’s aspirations for the presidency is for him to tell his followers to not vote in the Florida governor’s election,” McDonald added. “Trump would never let DeSantis forget he lost. But the risk is if DeSantis wins anyway, that exposes Trump as weak.”

Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s office and the DeSantis campaign for comment.