DeSantis denies Election 2020 steal

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) said yesterday that “theories” that fraud decided the Election of 2020 “proved to be unsubstantiated.” That comment has provoked a firestorm of social-media criticism, probably the most severe he has yet received.

What DeSantis said

Reportage of the remarks by DeSantis came from The New York Times and Mediaite.

Both outlets said Gov. DeSantis went further than ever before to say that no one proved fraud decided that election. The New York Times credited a big-money donor, Roger Bigelow, with ordering DeSantis to “appeal to moderates.” Accortding to Reuters, Bigelow threatened to cut all donations unless the governor “adopt[ed] a more moderate approach.”

Bigelow is the largest single donor to the governor’s Never Back Down PAC, having given $20 million dollars in March. “Extremism isn’t going to get you elected,” Reuters quotes Bidelow as saying.

Both outlets noted that the governor did not mention Trump by name when he said what he did. But those outlets also drew the inference that DeSantis was attacking Trump. However, whether the governor meant to attack Trump alone is far from clear. His open-ended statement could construe as an attack on anyone who raises the slightest doubt about American election integrity.

So far, the governor has said nothing to walk back his scathing criticism of the prosecution of Trump for his January 6 remarks.

The Reuters piece acknowledges that the DeSantis campaign is rapidly losing momentum. But they blame his “right-wing social policies and wooden personality” for that. Yet they have painted the clear picture of DeSantis as a creature of his donors, particularly Bigelow, the largest.

Robert Bigelow owns the Budget Suites hotel chain and also founded Bigelow Aerospace, which is developing an inflatable space habitat.

How people reacted

Mediaite quoted this text of the governor’s remarks:

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. Those theories, you know, proved to be unsubstantiated.

Platform X reacted with multiple expressions of scorn. Influencer DC Draino declared that DeSantis had just disqualified himself for the office of President.

Jim Hoft at The Gateway Pundit reiterated:

This was his latest political gaffe that will take down his campaign. Ron’s run for president is effectively over. What a sad, embarrassing campaign this was for the popular Florida governor.

Laura Loomer put it more strongly:

Loomer has a point. Gov. DeSantis never bothered to investigate her claims that Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.-11th) stole the Republican primary from her. Several questions remain from that election, including how the Orange County Board of Elections operates. Loomer always suspected a “big mail dump” in Orange County – similar to stories Trump tells in seven key States. Nevertheless, the governor, despite his showy establishment of an Elections Police force, never investigated.