Ron DeSantis won't say if he believes Pence could have overturned Trump's loss
Florida governor and rumoured 2024 hopeful Ron DeSantis (R) is keeping quiet — at least on this latest piece of GOP drama.
When asked by a reporter who he sides with in the ongoing debacle concerning former Vice President Mike Pence's certifcation of the 2020 election and former President Donald Trump (who has claimed Pence could have overturned the results), DeSantis replied, "I'm not. I ...," before cutting himself off, NBC News reports.
When further pressed, DeSantis changed the subject and commended his "great working relationship" with the Trump administration, and then came after President Biden for blocking his agenda, per NBC News.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
DeSantis' non-answer likely has something to do, if not much to do, with a possible White House bid and the political kiss of death that is crossing Trump (hey, just look at GOP Reps. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) and Liz Cheney (Wyo.). Notably, early polls rank DeSantis as a distant second to Trump in the 2024 presidential race, or the frontrunner should the former president decline to run, NBC News notes.
On Friday, Pence spoke out against his ex-boss' claims and correctly said "Trump is wrong" for suggesting the vice president could have changed the outcome of the contest.
Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is assessing whether to reform the Electoral Count Act so as to remove any ambiguity from the vice president's role in the process and "give the courts more say" in the end, notes NBC News.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
5 highly hypocritical cartoons about the Second AmendmentCartoons Artists take on Kyle Rittenhouse, the blame game, and more
-
‘Ghost students’ are stealing millions in student aidIn the Spotlight AI has enabled the scam to spread into community colleges around the country
-
A running list of everything Donald Trump’s administration, including the president, has said about his healthIn Depth Some in the White House have claimed Trump has near-superhuman abilities
-
A running list of everything Donald Trump’s administration, including the president, has said about his healthIn Depth Some in the White House have claimed Trump has near-superhuman abilities
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
‘Implementing strengthened provisions help advance aviation safety’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Does standing up to Trump help world leaders at home?Today’s Big Question Mark Carney’s approval ratings have ‘soared to new highs’ following his Davos speech but other world leaders may not benefit in the same way
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
