8 years for DeSantis? Trump says he only needs 6 months for rapid change: ‘You should vote against him’
URBANDALE, Iowa. (FLV) – Former President Donald Trump said at a campaign stop Thursday in Iowa that he would only need six months to turn the U.S. around.
Trump, having already served out a full four-year term as president, would only be allowed to serve one more term if he is sworn into office in 2025.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, on the other hand, would have the opportunity to run for reelection in 2028, should he become president, and serve through 2032.
“I’ve been watching DeSanctus go out and say, ‘I’ve got eight years. It’s going to be eight years,'” Trump said. “Let me tell you something right there. You should vote against him.”
“It will take me six months to have it totally the way it was,” the former president said to applause. “We’ll have it fast. It’s drilling, it’s the wall and it’s getting criminals out of our country that have been allowed to come in so freely.”
DeSantis responded Thursday afternoon, asked by NBC News reporter Gabe Gutierrez, and replying, “Why didn’t he do it his first four years?”
JUST IN: Ron DeSantis responds to Donald Trump saying he'd only need six months to turn the country around, rather than one or two 4-year terms
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) June 1, 2023
"Why didn't he do it his first four years?" pic.twitter.com/L25E3owRNj
The comments come as both candidates have now been campaigning Iowa, DeSantis seen as the only true potential threat to Trump’s prospects of obtaining the 2024 GOP nomination.
Pres. Trump gets a hero’s welcome in Iowa.
— Daniel Baldwin (@baldwin_daniel_) June 1, 2023
Massive crowd.
pic.twitter.com/eN9R21MeZL
The former president also spoke in Des Moines, Iowa, vowing to protect the 2nd Amendent.
His campaign has been releasing videos as part of their “Agenda 47,” most recently vowing to end the “scourge of drug addiction” in the United States by cracking down on cartel drug dealing.
The former president also recently pledged to end birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.
He said President Joe Biden launched an “illegal foreign invasion” of the U.S. with “record number of illegal aliens” and slammed the notion that “all of their future children will become automatic U.S. citizens.”
“On day one of my new term in office, I will sign an executive order making clear to federal agencies that under the correct interpretation of the law going forward: the future children of illegal aliens will not receive automatic us citizenship,” the former president continued.
He recently said that if he retakes office, he will throw a a “spectacular birthday party” for the United States of America’s 250th year of independence in 2026.
Trump said on his first day in the Oval Office, he would convene a task force called “Salute To America 250” to coordinate with governments across the U.S. for year-round festivities from Memorial Day 2025 through July 4, 2026.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include a response from DeSantis.
