Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday over his response to a question on the results of the 2020 election.
CNN host Anderson Cooper played a video clip of DeSantis being grilled by NBC journalist Dasha Burns on whether he believed former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden. DeSantis said that Trump lost. (RELATED: DeSantis Says ‘Of Course’ Trump Lost The 2020 Election)
“I still don’t think he answered it,” Christie said. “Right? He lost. Well, we all know that as a matter of law he lost the election, right? The deeper question, and the one that I think he’s dodging is, ‘do you believe it was a full and fair election?’ That’s really the question. And, with respect to the interviewer, I think she let him off the hook.”
Christie clarified that he believes Trump lost to Biden, and that the election was completely fair.
Cooper pointed out that a majority of Republicans do not believe the election was “free and fair.” Christie said that it’s reflective of the broader impact that Trump has had on the Republican party. He said that this shift in the GOP started on the night of the 2020 election, when Trump first publicly claimed the election was being stolen.
“People assume that the president of the United States knows things they don’t know. And, if you’re also inclined to be supportive, you want to give him the benefit of the doubt. And then that stuff has just, you know, seeped in,” Christie said.
The former New Jersey governor alleged that Trump has told him and others that if “you say something enough times, it becomes true.”