Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued his clearest declaration yet that he believes former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.
What You Need To Know
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued his clearest declaration yet that “of course” he believes former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election
- DeSantis, who is running against Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination for the White House, made the statement in an interview with NBC News
- But while DeSantis did not dispute that Biden was the rightful winner, he also made clear he thought the election was flawed
- He said Trump only had himself to blame for some of the so-called problems
DeSantis, who is running against Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination for the White House, made the statement in an interview with NBC News that was posted Monday.
“Of course he lost,” DeSantis said.
His comments came three days after Trump pleaded not guilty in Washington to his third indictment this year, this time on charges that he conspired to illegally overturn President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020. Trump has repeatedly made false claims that widespread fraud cost him the election.
But while DeSantis did not dispute that Biden was the rightful winner, he also made clear he thought the election was flawed.
The Florida governor said he believes the COVID-19 lockdowns that paved the way for large numbers of mail-in ballots and the FBI’s warnings to social media companies about Russian disinformation that led to censoring reports about Hunter Biden’s laptop were wrong.
He also criticized “Zuckerbucks,” a reference to an oft-mischaracterized $400 million donation by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, before the 2020 election. Social media posts and some conservatives have claimed the donation supported Biden’s campaign and violated campaign finance laws; the money actually went to two nonprofit organizations to help state and local governments conduct the election during the pandemic.
DeSantis said Trump only had himself to blame for some of the so-called problems.
“Why did we have all those mail votes?” DeSantis told NBC News’ Dasha Burns. “Because of Trump turned the government over to [former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony] Fauci. They embraced lockdowns. They did the CARES Act, which funded mail-in ballots across the country. Donald Trump signed that bill that funded the mail ballots that all the Republicans have been so concerned about.
“And also with the censorship of the Hunter Biden, that was Donald Trump’s FBI that was working with that. He didn’t have control over his own government.
“And so I think all of those issues were very problematic. But at the end at the end of the day, you know, Donald Trump helped facilitate that whole set of circumstances.”
DeSantis insisted if he were the GOP nominee, he would “not let them run circles around us.”
Trump spokesman Steve Cheung told NBC News, “Ron DeSantis should really stop being Joe Biden’s biggest cheerleader.”
After long dodging questions about Trump’s actions after the 2020 election, DeSantis’ public remarks have shifted following the president’s latest indictment. During a campaign appearance in Iowa on Friday, DeSantis said theories about election fraud “did not prove to be true,” but he did not mention Trump by name.
The Real Clear Politics polling average shows DeSantis a distant second behind Trump for the nomination. Fifty-four percent of Republicans support Trump, while 16% favor DeSantis.
