Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) refuted former President Donald Trump‘s claim that the 2020 election was stolen, telling ABC’s This Week that “the election was fair, as fair as we’ve seen.”
“While there were some irregularities, there were none of the irregularities which would have risen to the point where they would have changed the vote outcome in a single state,” Rounds told host George Stephanopoulos. “We simply did not win the election, as Republicans, for the presidency.”
The senator went on to say that instead of continuing to look back on the 2020 election, the party should “refocus once again on what it’s going to take to win the presidency,” as well as Congress.
“If we simply look back and tell our people don’t vote because there’s cheating going on, then we’re going to put ourselves in a huge disadvantage,” Rounds said. “So moving forward, let’s focus on what it takes to win those elections. We can do that, but we have to let people know that they can believe and they can have confidence that those elections are fair.”
Trump has previously called on his supporters to sit out the 2022 midterms and 2024 presidential election unless the “Presidential Election Fraud of 2020” is solved.
During the interview, Rounds shared his thoughts on whether Trump could be held
“This is an issue which the courts can decide,” Rounds said. “Most certainly, if there’s evidence there, this is going to be up to the Justice Department to bring it forward and move with it.”
Pressed by Stephanopoulos on whether he would support a 2024 Trump bid, Rounds did not rule out the possibility but said he was uncertain “that the eventual nominee has even shown up yet.”
“I will take a hard look at it,” Rounds said. “Personally, what I have told people is, is I’m going to support the Republican nominee to be president. I’m not sure that the eventual nominee has even shown up yet. There’s still over two years to go.”
Watch above, via ABC News’ YouTube