Former President Donald Trump has issued fresh critiques about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin ahead of a Mar-a-Lago rally announcing his 2024 reelection bid.

In a statement released Thursday, Trump claimed he had sent the FBI and U.S. Attorneys to Florida during the immediate aftermath of the 2018 gubernatorial election. Trump said he "fixed" what he claimed was voter fraud in Broward County, which was costing DeSantis and now-Sen. Rick Scott tens of thousands of votes per day.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks about President Donald Trump during a campaign rally Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019 Brynn Anderson/AP

After sending the FBI and U.S. Attorneys, Trump said, "the ballot theft immediately ended, just prior to them running out of the votes necessary to win. I stopped his election from being stolen."

But officials on Friday indicated the former president's account was a fabrication.

Former Justice Department spokesperson Sarah Isgur tweeted Friday that Trump did not send attorneys to Florida. It "never happened."

Trump also took credit for elevating DeSantis' popularity among conservatives. Trump stated he "came to me in desperate shape in 2017—he was politically dead ... low approval, bad polls, and no money, but he said that if I would endorse him, he could win."

Trump's claims came as Republican officials directly blamed the ex-president for their party's disappointing midterm results in Tuesday's elections.

In addition to DeSantis, Trump criticized Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Friday, in this case going so far as to mock his name, spelling it "Young Kin" and saying it "sounds Chinese, doesn't it?"

Like DeSantis, Youngkin is a rising star in the GOP and could be a formidable contender against Trump in a 2024 presidential bid.

Trump said that Youngkin "couldn't have won without me. I endorsed him, did a very big Trump rally for him telephonically, got MAGA to vote for him – or he couldn't have come close to winning. But he knows that and admits it."

Youngkin responded to Trump's comments Friday in a statement shared by his spokesman, saying, "I work hard to bring people together, I do not call people names. This is a moment for us to come together."

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