With few exceptions, such as Chris Christie, none of the other candidates vying for the GOP nomination have disputed President Trump’s continued view that the White House was stolen from him. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, whose distant second-place campaign has been floundering, is hoping to get some media oxygen by recently saying, “Of course Trump Lost.”
DeSantis made the comments in an interview with NBC News airing on the “NBC Nightly News.” The Florida governor said, “Whoever puts their hand on the Bible on Jan. 20 every four years is the winner,” while mentioning several concerns with how the 2020 presidential election was administered. Pressed for an answer on whether Trump lost, DeSantis responded, “No, of course, he lost.”
“Joe Biden’s the president,” he said.
In response to that interview, Trump spokesperson Steve Cheung told NBC News that DeSantis “should really stop being Joe Biden’s biggest cheerleader.”
DeSantis’s admission represents his first major break from Trump, who did support DeSantis’s reelection for governor, and Trump’s support was largely responsible for DeSantis’s victory. His apparent acceptance of the outcome of the 2020 election is also a break from the majority of GOP voters. A CBS News/YouGov poll in May found that 69% of likely Republican primary voters said they don’t consider President Biden to be the legitimate winner of the 2020 election. That denial has held firm despite the insistence from the left that the 2020 election was the most secure in history.
Meanwhile, in the wake of his floundering presidential bid, DeSantis fired his campaign manager. Earlier this week, the Florida governor replaced Generra Peck in what is the third major reshuffling of his operations. Peck will be shifted to the role of chief strategist as part of the new order. Taking her place at the top of the campaign will be James Uthmeier, who has served as chief of staff in DeSantis’ governor’s office.
One person close to the campaign, who spoke to Politico anonymously and so was free to discuss the issue, said that Peck’s removal was “no surprise. Should have happened a few weeks ago.”