Trump says GOP Sen. Mike Rounds 'went woke' and 'will never receive my Endorsement again' after Rounds called the 2020 presidential election 'as fair as we've seen'

• Trump said a GOP senator "went woke" and vowed never to endorse him again.
• Sen. Mike Rounds said on Sunday that the 2020 election was "as fair as we've seen."

Former President Donald Trump vowed to never again endorse Sen. Mike Rounds after the South Dakota Republican said on Sunday that the 2020 presidential election was fair.

"'Senator' Mike Rounds," Trump said in a statement on Monday, "just went woke on the Fraudulent Presidential Election of 2020." He criticized Rounds for his election comment and baselessly claimed that there's "evidence to the contrary" in Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

"Is he crazy or just stupid?" Trump said, adding: "The only reason he did this is because he got my endorsement and easily won his state in 2020, so now he thinks he has time, and those are the only ones, the weak, who will break away. Even though his election will not be coming up for 5 years, I will never endorse this jerk again."

Trump went on to air grievances about "Democrat-run cities" and geopolitical conflicts around the world before concluding: "He is a weak and ineffective leader, and I hereby firmly pledge that he will never receive my Endorsement again."

In an appearance on ABC's "This Week," Rounds — who voted to certify the 2020 election results — affirmed the validity of the vote. "The election was fair, as fair as we've seen," he said. "We simply did not win the election, as Republicans, for the presidency."

The second-term lawmaker also suggested that Trump's focus on the 2020 presidential election could be detrimental to Republicans' prospects in future elections.

"Moving forward, we have to refocus once again on what it's going to take to win the presidency," Rounds said. "And 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 also signaled that he believed the legal system may not be fully through with Trump.

ABC's George Stephanopoulos asked him about a hypothetical law barring Trump from running again, predicated on the idea that Trump violated his oath of office by supporting the Capitol riot.

"The courts are the appropriate place where those questions should be answered," Rounds replied.

Rounds has called the events of January 6, 2021, when thousands of Trump supporters laid siege to the US Capitol, an insurrection.

"In my opinion, what we had was an insurrection," Rounds told the West Central Tribune. "We had violence. We had people killed. We had a mob that ignored direct commands. They attacked law enforcement officers. They damaged federal property. They clearly intended to stop us from performing our duties in the recognition of the electoral vote count."