Ron DeSantis Sparks MAGA Fury After Dismissing Key Donald Trump Claim

Prominent Donald Trump supporters have responded with fury after Ron DeSantis said "theories" about the 2020 presidential election "did not prove to be true," in what was widely seen as a rejection of the former president's claims of electoral fraud.

One Trump ally responded by labeling the Florida governor "a complete and total FRAUD" while another said his "refusal to address voter fraud is why I hate him."

Trump and DeSantis are the frontrunners for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, though polling indicates the ex-president has a significant lead over his rival. The contest has become increasingly bitter over the past few months, with Trump branding his rival a "loser" in June.

Nearly three years after the 2020 president election, Trump still refuses to concede, insisting the result was "stolen" from him despite this being repeatedly rejected in court and by independent election experts. On Thursday, Trump pleaded not guilty to four charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election result.

Speaking to reporters during a campaign stop in Iowa on Friday, DeSantis addressed claims the 2020 contest was rigged against Trump. He commented: "I've said many times, 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 we want to, but that's different than saying, like, '[Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro stole votes' or something like that. I think those theories, you know, proved to be unsubstantiated."

The Maduro comment is a reference to the discredited conspiracy theory that election machines were hacked in 2020 using technology developed in Venezuela, an authoritarian state led by a self-styled socialist.

In response Laura Loomer, a Florida-based Trump supporter and former congressional candidate, attacked DeSantis on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, where she has over 472,000 followers.

She wrote: "For those of you who've been following me now for awhile, you know this isn't new news. I've been telling you for 2 years now that Ron DeSantis doesn't believe the 2020 election was STOLEN. His refusal to address voter fraud is why I hate him."

Rogan O'Handley, a self-styled "anti-woke" conservative commentator with a million X subscribers, said: "This is disqualifying. If you think Joe Biden got the most votes in US history, you're an actual clown."

The post was shared by Kari Lake, a fervent Trump supporter who ran unsuccessfully to be governor of Arizona in November 2022. She added: "Hey Ron, 81 Million Votes, My A**."

This refers to the just over 81 million votes Biden received in 2020, versus a bit over 74 million for Trump. In June Lake helped release a protest song about the 2020 election, titled "81 Million Votes, My A**."

Alex Bruesewitz, a Trump supporting commentator with nearly 344,000 followers on X, posted: "Rob DeSantis is now saying that the 2020 election was 'free and fair.' Rod is a complete and total FRAUD!"

Deliberately misspelling DeSantis's name is a tactic used by a number of Trump supporters including the former president himself, who has taken to calling the Florida Governor Ron DeSanctimonious.

However not everyone on X was so critical of DeSantis, with one user from Florida, who identified herself as a "Christian conservative," writing: "Thank You Governor Ron DeSantis for having the principles, integrity and courage to finally say with absolute certainty that the 2020 election was not stolen, This is a hard truth that needed to be spoken by him specifically."

Newsweek has approached the DeSantis campaign for comment by email, and Trump via the press inquiry form on his official website.