During an interview with NBC News, only after being pressed several times about the matter, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis admitted Donald Trump really did lose the 2020 election. And on Monday, MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan talked at length about he thinks no one should be patting DeSantis on the back for it.
“Where does he get off,” Hasan asked. You can watch the whole clip above.
Now if you need a refresher on the interview, which aired Monday morning, go here. Meanwhile, Hasan, guest-hosting “All In With Chris Hayes” (Hayes is still on vacation), had a lot to say about how insincere he believes this admission was.
“Only three years after the 2020 election, Ron DeSantis has finally admitted that Donald Trump Lost. Sorta, Hasan said, noting that the statement comes only now that “the Florida governor’s own presidential campaign is floundering and he’s trailing the endangered ex-president by double digits in every poll.”
“Where does he get off saying, ‘of course, Joe Biden is the president, of course Donald Trump lost,’ as if that’s what he’s been saying all along,” Hasan continued. “As if DeSantis has not spent the past two and a half years hedging and passive-voicing his way out of stating that exact fact. All while pushing big lie-adjacent conspiracy theories about election fraud, and endorsing election denying candidates for office.”
“In many ways,” Hasan said, “DeSantis is almost more dangerous than Trump. Because while Trump lies about the election in a crazy way, DeSantis actually took steps as Florida’s stumped governor to suppress legitimate voters under the guise of fighting imaginary voter fraud.”
Hasan then recapped DeSantis’ various voter suppression policies, like the bill deliberately making it more uncomfortable and difficult for people to vote, and the arrests of people in Florida for so-called voter fraud who it turns out were innocent.
“But if there is any small consolation here, it is that Ron DeSantis will almost certainly not be able to impose his extreme, far right agenda on America as a whole, if the polls are to be believed,” Hasan went on. “Iit turns out most voters do not want to make America Florida since DeSantis.”
Hasan then noted the polling showing him in a distant second place behind Trump, before going into detail how unpopular, even with Republicans, DeSantis’ political campaign and his focus on “woke” has been. You can, as we said, see the whole clip above now.
