The Lincoln Project has taken aim at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for saying that he doesn’t know where he was on 9/11.
In an ad, the political action committee formed by moderate Republicans, slammed the GOP leader for comments he made during an interview, dubbing him “not ready for primetime”.
Piers Morgan sat down earlier this week with the Florida governor, who it’s widely believed will challenge former president Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
During the interview, Mr DeSantis was asked where he was on the day that the terrorist attacks took place.
He appeared to fumble the question, saying: “I think I’d just graduated college and I didn’t have a care in the world and all of a sudden, Boom. You know, it happened.”
The Lincoln Project later released an ad which said: “[Governor Ron DeSantis] wants to be the next Republican president, yet he doesn’t remember the day every American can never forget. He’s not ready for primetime.”
Rick Wilson, a founder of the Lincoln Project, also noted: “Every American knows where they were on 9/11, and though he refuses to say it, we know Ron DeSantis was teaching at the elite Darlington school in Georgia on that day. Why he refused to answer has left America questioning his honesty.”
He continued: “The Piers Morgan interview was the cherry on top of one of the worst rollouts of a Presidential candidate in decades. In a week where his main rival is terrified he’s about to be arrested, DeSantis actually managed to come out worse.”
Mr Wilson added: “Ron should stick to fighting with cartoon mice, because he’s not ready for a banking crisis or a war in Europe.”
In the TalkTV and Fox Nation show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, Mr DeSantis also said that he was unfazed by Trump mocking him and nicknaming him “Ron DeSanctimonious”.
“I don’t really know what it means, but I kinda like it,” he told Morgan, calling the jibes “background noise”.
He added: “You can call me whatever you want, just as long as you also call me a winner because that’s what we’ve been able to do in Florida, is put a lot of points on the board and really take this State to the next level.”
Mr Trump branded Piers Morgan a “ratings-challenged TV host” ahead of the interview.
