NEW YORK – Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has finally admitted that rival Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, putting to rest years of equivocation on the matter. In an interview with NBC News posted on Monday, DeSantis unequivocally stated, “Of course he lost. Joe Biden’s the president.”
For some time, DeSantis had avoided giving a clear answer when questioned about the legitimacy of the 2020 election results. However, in recent days, he has begun to challenge the falsehoods propagated by Trump and his allies regarding the election’s legitimacy. Numerous federal and state election officials, along with Trump’s own attorney general, had asserted that there was no credible evidence to suggest that the election’s outcome was impacted by fraud. Additionally, courts, including those with judges appointed by Trump, had decisively rejected the former president’s allegations at the time.
DeSantis’ change in rhetoric comes as he attempts to reinvigorate his stagnant 2024 White House campaign. Meanwhile, Trump remains a popular figure within the Republican Party base and currently leads as the early and prominent front-runner in the upcoming GOP presidential primary.
Initially, during the interview, DeSantis did not provide a straightforward response when asked if Trump lost the election, stating, “Whoever puts their hand on the Bible on Jan. 20 every four years is the winner.” However, when pressed again, he eventually admitted Trump’s loss.
While the governor expressed concerns about certain voting methods used in the 2020 election, such as mail voting and “ballot harvesting,” he also acknowledged that Republicans would adopt these methods despite prior criticism. DeSantis emphasized the need to fight back against perceived issues in the election process, noting that the media and others portray it as a “perfect election,” which he disagrees with.
Throughout his campaign, DeSantis has positioned himself as someone capable of effectively implementing Trump’s policies but has been cautious in critiquing the former president’s actions. Last month, he remarked that Trump should have more forcefully condemned the Jan. 6 attack, yet he also described it as a “protest” that unfortunately “devolved” into something regrettable.
DeSantis has stressed that focusing on the past election and Trump’s legal troubles, including federal charges related to mishandling classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, could hinder Republican success in the 2024 election. He believes that if the election is framed as a referendum on Joe Biden’s policies and a presentation of a positive vision for the future, Republicans have a better chance of winning the presidency. Conversely, if the election becomes centered around Jan. 6, 2021, or unrelated issues, he warns that the GOP could face defeat.