DeSantis' reference to Ted Cruz stems from the 2016 Iowa Caucuses, which Cruz won by more than 6,000 votes. Following his loss, Trump declared without evidence that the caucuses were fraudulent.

"Ted Cruz didn’t win Iowa, he illegally stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong any [sic] why he got more votes than anticipated. Bad!" Trump tweeted in February of 2016. "Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified."

While Trump has never once conceded that he lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden, DeSantis has walked the tightrope of endorsing the concept of widespread election fraud (which even Trump's hand-picked former Attorney General, Bill Barr said never took place) while also never outright backing Trump's claim that he was the rightful winner in 2020. In fact, according to the Times, DeSantis never explicitly said Biden won the election until an August interview.

Trump is currently enjoying a comfortable lead over the rest of the Republican primary field, according to RealClearPolitics' polling data. In Iowa, the former president is ahead of DeSantis — his closest rival in the Hawkeye State — by nearly 31 points. The Florida governor is even further behind in New Hampshire, placing behind not just Trump, but former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Trump has a 26-point lead over Haley as of December 13.