Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has pushed back on one of the biggest lies in American politics: That only conservatives, specifically fans of former President Donald Trump, are “election deniers.”
The Republican governor and presidential candidate appeared on “Real Time” with host Bill Maher on Friday. It was a wide-ranging discussion during which the pair talked COVID-19 policies, the cancerous growth of wokeness, the GOP debates, and DeSantis’ chances against Trump.
“Let’s face it, Ron, if the campaign was going well, you wouldn’t be on this show,” Maher quipped.
But in a pivotal moment, DeSantis turned the election-denier issue back on liberals.
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Maher noted that DeSantis campaigned for “election-deniers,” such as Kari Lake, a former GOP gubernatorial candidate who lost in Arizona last year and is now running for the Senate.
“This I do not forgive,” said Maher, offering a quote from “The Godfather.”
DeSantis joked that maybe he made a mistake publicly supporting Lake because she is now attacking him with a falsehood about COVID mandates in Florida.
But in response to Maher’s question, he added, “I wanted to see Republicans win key races.”
Maher then asked if backing those who disputed the election results was a “deal-breaker.” DeSantis invited him to recall the 2016 election.
“Your friends in Hollywood were cutting ads telling the Electoral College to vote against Trump in the Electoral College because it was stolen. They said Russia stole the election, for years they said that,” DeSantis said. “So don’t act like this is like a unique thing in modern history of the country.”
Maher’s audience actually applauded that line. They also clapped when Maher joked in response, “First of all, Ron, I have no friends in Hollywood.”
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That referred to Maher’s comments in recent months in which the liberal comedian has been sharply at odds with Hollywood leftists over woke politics on race and gender.
Hillary Clinton suggested for years after losing to Trump that Russia helped him “steal” the election, even as she and other liberals promoted the lie cooked up by her own campaign that Trump colluded with Russian operatives.
Democrats also have called George W. Bush an illegitimate president because of the disputed outcome in the 200 election.
In one other key moment on Friday, Maher asked DeSantis why he took on the daunting job of challenging Trump, especially when, at 45, he would have other chances to run for president.
DeSantis replied that he doesn’t think Trump can win the general election, while he can, and Trump wouldn’t “clean house” even if he does.
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