DeSantis: 'Of course' Trump lost in 2020, 'Joe Biden's the president'

"If the election is a referendum on Joe Biden’s policies and the failures that we’ve seen and we are presenting a positive vision for the future, we will win the presidency," DeSantis said.

By Colman Rowan

Published: August 7, 2023 5:20pm

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis espoused the view that former President Donald Trump did, in fact, lose the 2020 presidential election during an NBC interview on Monday.

"Of course he lost," DeSantis said. "Joe Biden’s the president."

DeSantis initially stated that "whoever puts their hand on the Bible on January 20th every four years is the winner." He further espoused the view that a number of changes to the electoral system, including COVID-19 related mail-in ballot measures may have been unconstitutional.

"I think that all of those issues were very problematic," he continued, prompting his interviewer to request a more definitive answer. His statement that Trump lost, however, appears to refer strictly to the fact that President Joe Biden occupies the White House.

The Florida governor last week stated that myriad fraud theories "did not prove to be true." His comments on Monday come amidst dropping poll numbers in the 2024 Republican primary contest.

DeSantis further told the outlet that the Republican path to victory would be to make the contest a referendum on Joe Biden's official tenure instead of focusing on Trump's fraud theories or legal woes.

"If the election is a referendum on Joe Biden’s policies and the failures that we’ve seen and we are presenting a positive vision for the future, we will win the presidency," DeSantis told NBC. "If, on the other hand, the election is not about Jan. 20, 2025, but Jan. 6, 2021, or what document was left by the toilet at Mar-a-Lago, if it’s a referendum on that, we are going to lose."