Why is DeSantis doing this all of the sudden?
In a recent interview broadcast on Monday, Ron DeSantis, the Republican candidate for the presidency, refuted former President Trump’s repeated assertions that he emerged victorious in the 2020 election. DeSantis unequivocally stated that Trump had, in fact, lost the election.
According to The Hill, during the interview, which is set to air on “NBC Nightly News,” NBC News correspondent Dasha Burns posed the question to the Florida governor, asking whether he believed Trump to be the winner of the 2020 election. In response, DeSantis emphasized that the true winner is determined by the individual who takes the oath on the Bible every four years on January 20th.
When pressed for a direct answer, DeSantis firmly stated, “No, he lost. Joe Biden is the president.”
Last week, Trump faced indictment due to his efforts to retain power subsequent to his defeat in the 2020 election against President Biden. The indictment, spanning 45 pages, alleges that Trump orchestrated a campaign characterized by deceit, fraud, and deceit in an attempt to obstruct a fundamental aspect of democratic processes.
DeSantis’s comments to NBC News mirror his statements made during a campaign event in Iowa on Friday, where he asserted that the claims regarding election fraud in 2020 failed to stand up to scrutiny.
Throughout the interview, DeSantis brought attention to his concerns regarding the 2020 election, including issues such as the financial contributions from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to election administration, the widespread availability of mail-in ballots, and the provisions within state laws that allow third parties to collect and return ballots from voters.
In addition, DeSantis assigned some blame for the election loss to Trump, highlighting Trump’s approval of the CARES Act, a $2 trillion COVID relief package enacted in March 2020. Part of these funds, approximately $400 million, were allocated to support election administration in various states, contributing to the increased availability of mail-in voting during the pandemic.
DeSantis further asserted, “However, it is important for Republican voters to consider why the prevalence of mail-in ballots occurred. This was a consequence of the government’s reliance on figures like Fauci,” referring to Dr. Anthony Fauci, a former leader of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. DeSantis emphasized the embrace of lockdown measures and the passage of the CARES Act, which played a role in the proliferation of mail-in voting across the nation.