DeSantis branded 'Biden cheerleader' as he slams Trump election lies
Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has been accused of being a Joe Biden "cheerleader" after he rejected Donald Trump's claims he won the 2020 election.
"Whoever puts their hand on the Bible on January 20 every four years is the winner," Mr DeSantis, 44, told NBC News.
He added: "No, of course he lost. Joe Biden’s the president." There is no evidence whatsoever that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, despite Mr Trump's continued claims.
The interview led Trump spokesperson Steve Cheung to accuse Mr DeSantis of "being Joe Biden’s biggest cheerleader."
This month, Mr Trump was indicted on four counts related to alleged attempts to undermine the 2020 election and was arranged in a Washington DC court last week, where he pleaded not guilty.
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The former president, 77, now faces 78 charges in total with a potential for over 600 years in prison if maximum penalties were to be applied.
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Mr Trump continues to claim he won the 2020 election (AP)Despite the comments, the Florida governor insisted there were still some problems with the election and claimed social media outlets downplayed a story of allegedly salacious data on the laptop of Hunter Biden, the son of the president.
Hunter Biden's legal team has repeatedly denied and said any data did not come from a device belonging to their client.
Mr DeSantis attacked social media giant Meta and Mark Zuckerberg's decision to provide nonpartisan election administration grants. Republicans accused Mr Zuckerberg of trying to boost votes for the Democratic party, but this was unanimously dismissed by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
Also under fire were mail-in ballots, which were widely used in the 2020 election and could be picked up and returned by third parties in some states. Mail-in ballots have been targeted by Mr Trump as evidence of election fraud, despite evidence contrary to his false claims.
"I think what people in the media and elsewhere, they want to act like somehow this was just like the perfect election. ... I don’t think it was a good-run election," DeSantis said. "But I also think Republicans didn’t fight back. You’ve got to fight back when that is happening."
Mr DeSantis is behind Mr Trump in the polls (AP)Mr Trump lost, his political and party rival said, not because of a poorly run election, but because of his policies during the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr DeSantis slammed lockdowns and accused Mr Trump of turning "the government over to Fauci," referencing Dr Anthony Fauci, the former president's chief medical advisor.
Mr DeSantis also blasted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), a bill that provided $2.2trillion in a boost to the American economy.
The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) said in a report that "Over 70% of the states specifically mentioned using the funds to cover higher costs to print, mail, and process mail-in ballots."
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Around 75% "will also use the funds to provide personal protective equipment to poll workers and to staff who will process mail-in ballots," the report said.
The Florida governor said: "But here’s the issue that I think is important for Republican voters to think about: Why did we have all those mail votes? Because Trump turned the government over to Fauci.
"They embraced lockdowns. They did the CARES Act, which funded mail-in ballots across the country."
Polling by FiveThirtyEight shows Mr Trump well in the lead to secure the Rebupilcian nomination with over 53 per cent of the vote. Mr DeSantis' numbers have fallen, to an average of just over 14 per cent.
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