TALLAHASSEE — For a while, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and Congressman Ron DeSantis were in danger of serious elbow injuries in a “who’s the Trumpiest” contest that’s part of their larger battle to capture the Republican nomination to succeed Gov. Rick Scott.
But it seems that Fox News darling DeSantis has captured the heart not only of President Donald Trump but perhaps the entire First Family.
The president’s namesake, Donald Trump Jr., will be in the Sunshine State to stump for DeSantis next month, according to the congressman’s campaign staff. The First Son will also give a Trump stamp of approval to DeSantis’ fellow Fox fave, Panhandle Congressman Matt Gaetz, prior to Florida’s August primary election.
DeSantis has been boasting for a while that he’s garnered the endorsement of the president, who’s more than once praised the Palm Coast Republican. But appearing onstage with the younger Trump will burnish the congressman’s conservative credentials in his grudge match against Putnam.
The agriculture commissioner, meanwhile, remains ensnared in a controversy about Publix after recent reports that the supermarket company contributed more than $600,000 to Putnam’s gubernatorial campaign over the past three years.
Gun-control advocates, who had already targeted Putnam for calling himself “a proud NRA sellout,” quickly called for a boycott of Publix, while supporters of both the Lakeland-based company and Putnam encouraged shoppers to spend their time and money at the iconic grocery chain.