Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis explained on Tuesday that he didn't want to criticize former President Donald Trump for the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol because Republicans were "going to lose" the presidency if it became a hot talking point.
During a campaign event in Hollis, New Hampshire, a 15-year-old student asked DeSantis if Trump had violated the tradition of a peaceful transfer of power.
"So here's what I know," DeSantis replied. "If this election is about Biden's failures and our vision for the future, we are going to win. If it's about re-litigating things that happened two, three years ago, we're going to lose."
DeSantis pointed out that Florida was peaceful after he won his second term as governor.
"We had a transition of power from my first administration to my second because I won re-election in a historic fashion," he said. "So I wasn't anywhere near Washington that day. I have nothing to do with what happened that day. Obviously, I didn't enjoy seeing what would happen."
"But we've got to go forward on this stuff," he added. "We cannot be looking backwards and be mired in the past."
