Florida governor and 2024 GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis doubled down on his rejection of election fraud claims surrounding former President Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election, telling NBC News, “of course he lost,” following Trump’s not-guilty plea last week to charges stemming from his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and as the feud between Trump and DeSantis heats up.
One-time allies former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) have traded blows in ... [+]
DeSantis made his remarks in an interview with NBC News correspondent Dasha Burns, saying that “whoever puts their hand on the Bible on January 20 every four years is the winner” of the presidential election, marking the Florida governor’s most direct assertion that Trump lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden.
His comments come less than a week after Trump pleaded not guilty to federal charges, including obstruction and conspiracy to defraud the United States, over allegations he violated federal law in an effort to overturn his 2020 loss—Trump maintains he has not violated any crimes, and repeatedly took to Truth Social, calling the charges “Fake” and the Department of Justice’s investigation into the allegations a “witch hunt.”
The Florida governor, who launched his 2024 campaign in March, also criticized Trump for funding an expansion of mail-in ballots through the federal CARES Act in 2020, slamming the Trump Administration for having “embraced [Covid-19] lockdowns” and signing a piece of legislation to fund absentee voting—a practice Trump has also called into question, despite expanding the program and voting by mail himself.
Covid-era lockdowns have been a thorn in DeSantis’ strained relationship with Trump, and in March, DeSantis called out Trump for not firing former chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci and for his handling of the pandemic—Trump, in turn, had taken repeated jabs at DeSantis’ over his Covid response amid rising coronavirus cases in Florida and for his refusal to disclose whether he received a Covid booster shot in January 2022.
DeSantis has also come down on Trump’s actions the day of the January 6 Capitol riots, even after previously dodging questions on the topic and refusing to rule out a potential pardon for Trump over the riots if elected president.
Last month, he argued at a press conference in South Carolina that Trump “should have come out more forcefully” to quash the insurrection, arguing Trump “didn’t do anything” as he sat in the Oval Office while the riots unfolded.
DeSantis—who for months remained silent in response to a chorus of direct attacks by Trump—also called election fraud theories “unsubstantiated” following a campaign event in Iowa last week, adding: “those theories that were put out did not prove to be true.”
“Ron DeSantis should really stop being Joe Biden’s biggest cheerleader,” Trump’s spokesperson Steve Cheung told NBC News.
Trump was charged in Washington D.C. last week in his third indictment this year on four federal counts, following the DOJ’s investigation into his actions leading up to the January 6 riots. Trump, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, was also indicted in March on charges stemming from a series of hush money payments ahead of the 2016 presidential election, including to adult film star Stormy Daniels. He was indicted again in June over allegations he mishandled classified documents following his departure from the White House.
Trump is destroying DeSantis in early 2024 primary polls. A New York Times/Siena College poll released late last month found 54% of likely Republican voters favor Trump over 17% for DeSantis and 3% each for former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). DeSantis’ national polling average has slipped over the past month from 23.4% to 14.3%, as Trump takes a commanding 53.3% lead over a crowded GOP field, according to FiveThirtyEight’s weighted average.
DeSantis Calls Trump’s 2020 Election Claims ‘Unsubstantiated’ As Feud Boils Over (Forbes)