Nationally, Gore was the popular vote winner. A representative government would have seated Gore in the Oval Office. The State of Florida, in a representative government, could not overrule the choice of the majority of Americans.

As for what the actual situation in Florida was, you are right—we will never know. We also know that a weirdly designed ballot led a bunch of people who wanted to vote for Gore to accidentally vote for Pat Buchanan. This wasn't a GOP dirty trick—it was an honest mistake. But a deadly one.