Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis denied on Friday that there was systemic fraud in the 2020 election, issuing his sternest rebuke yet to Republican primary frontrunner and former President Donald Trump.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that his chief rival Donald Trump pushed “unsubstantiated” theories of widespread voter fraud following the 2020 election, issuing his sternest rebuke yet to the former president and 2024 Republican primary frontrunner.
“The election is what it is. All those theories that were put out did not prove to be true … It was not an election that was conducted the way I think that we want to, but that’s different than saying [Venezuelan President Nicolás] Maduro stole votes or something like that,” DeSantis, 44, told reporters in Iowa, referencing one notorious theory circulated by the 45th president’s legal team which stated voting machines in key states had been hacked and results changed.
“And I think those theories, you know, proved to be unsubstantiated.”
Trump, 77, was arraigned in Washington, DC, federal court on Thursday on four counts including conspiracy and obstruction for allegedly trying to overturn his defeat by Joe Biden.
The 45th president pleaded not guilty to charges that he made “knowingly false” claims of fraud following the election, setting in motion a chain of events that culminated in the breach of the US Capitol building by a mob of his supporters on Jan.
