After Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis blamed former President Donald Trump for inflation during the second Republican debate, President Joe Biden has now turned his rant against Trump by using DeSantis' remarks in his latest campaign ad.
During the debate held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, DeSantis criticized Trump for not taking part:
"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 now."
You can hear what DeSantis said in the video below, which was shared by the Biden-Harris campaign.
Republicans have long attempted to blame the Biden administration for inflation, which, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was caused by the "volatility of energy prices, backlogs of work orders for goods and service caused by supply chain issues due to COVID-19, and price changes in the auto-related industries."
With quick turnaround, Biden's campaign churned out an ad that made use of DeSantis' rant—skewering both DeSantis and Trump equally.
The President shared it with the following short and sweet message:
"That's right."
You can see the ad below.
Many appreciated Biden's messaging.
Last night's debate marked the second time Trump—the clear GOP frontrunner—skipped the debate.
He has justified his absence by pointing to his leading position in the polls as the rationale for not sharing the stage with his fellow GOP presidential aspirants.
His competition spent the event trying hard to present themselves as suitable alternatives, though "there was little evidence any of them was trying to win that office," per an Associated Press analysis that noted they largely agreed on many topics and avoided bringing up Trump unless otherwise prompted.
DeSantis himself has been slow to criticize Trump over the course of his campaign but was pressured to give a more aggressive performance. He took the opportunity to lambast Trump on the matter of abortion, saying Trump was wrong to blame last year's disappointing GOP midterm elections performance on the Supreme Court's decision overturning abortion rights.
DeSantis once again highlighted Trump's absence, saying "he should be here explaining his comments" and that he wants Trump "to look into the eyes and tell people who’ve been fighting this fight for a long time.”
