DeSantis asks if Trump has the ‘balls to show up’ to the third GOP debate

Ron DeSantis showed off his pair of … golf balls Thursday and questioned whether Donald Trump has “the balls” to join the third Republican presidential debate next week.

In a tongue-in-cheek merch drop, the DeSantis campaign began selling golf balls with the slogan, “Ron DeSantis has a pair — he shows up” in a direct taunt at the GOP frontrunner.

The Sunshine State governor also brushed aside recent hubbub about his boots and promised to wear one on his head if the former president “can summon the balls to show up to the debate.”

“This is no time for foot fetishes. We’ve got serious problems as a country,” DeSantis told Newsmax’s “The Balance” Thursday evening, rattling off examples like the border and war in Israel.

“I know Donald Trump and a lot of his people have been focusing on things like footwear. I’ll tell you this. You know, if Donald Trump can summon the balls to show up to the debate, I’ll wear a boot on my head,” he went on.

“This is a time for substance. This is a time for us to debate the issues that matter to the American people. And the question is are you able to fight for them.”

Trump, who famously loves to swing at golf balls at his various lavish resorts, has contended that debating candidates polling significantly below him is not worth his time.

He touts a 45.9% lead over DeSantis, his nearest foe, in the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate of polling.

At the moment, he appears poised to headline a rally in nearby Hialeah, Fla. on Nov. 8, not far from where the third GOP is slated to take place at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami.

The two campaigns have traded similar innuendo in the past.

“Not surprised Ron DeSantis is looking for a set of balls,” Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, told NBC News back in June, drawing a response from DeSantis world.

Some of the former president’s allies have also outright taken aim at DeSantis’ manhood as well, christening him, “Tiny D.”

During the 2016 election cycle, Trump seemingly addressed questions about his own manhood from another Florida Republican — Sen. Marco Rubio.

“He referred to my hands, [suggesting] if they are small, something else must be small,” Trump quipped at a debate during a riff on Rubio.”

“I guarantee you there is no problem,” added the future 45th president. “I guarantee.”

Recently, the Trump camp has zeroed in on questions about whether DeSantis is wearing height raisers on his shoes to make him appear taller.

“No, no. Those are just standard, off-the-rack Lucchese boots,” DeSantis told host Patrick Bet-David on the “PBD Podcast” when asked about internet murmurs of him wearing lifts.

Trump stirred the pot on Truth Social late last month, posting a triptych image of DeSantis and his footwear during the governor’s appearance on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”

“Tell me he’s not wearing hidden heels,” a caption said.

The Trump-aligned, Make America Great Again Inc. super PAC, also needled DeSantis Wednesday with plans to gift him a pair of Puerto Rican-themed boots as an early Christmas present.

That doubled as a jab accusing him of backing statehood for Puerto Rico.

But DeSantis is seeking to paper over the below the belt blows and draw Trump into the verbal bout.

“This is a time for us to debate the issues that matter to the American people,” DeSantis continued in the Newsmax interview.

“And the question is are you able to fight for them, which we have done in Florida, are you able to win those fights, which we have been able to do in Florida, and are you able to lead to a better tomorrow?”

The Sunshine State governor has accused Trump of mounting a “basement campaign” strategy mirroring President Biden in 2020.

DeSantis’ campaign also recently launched an “accident tracker” to keep a log of the former president’s verbal flubs and flagrant mishaps on the campaign trail.