Former President Donald Trump charged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with choosing China over American farmers, a line he has recently repeated in his campaign stops around the country.
Mr. Trump said on Friday at a campaign rally in South Dakota that Mr. DeSantis, Florida Republican, opposed tariffs against China previously enacted during his presidency. Mr. Trump lauded his tariffs, saying that China paid U.S. farmers $28 billion as a result.
He also called Mr. DeSantis “disloyal” for not supporting the move.
“He strongly opposed my protection for our farmers,” Mr. Trump said. “I protected our farmers very simply, and by the way those farmers got big checks.”
“Very simply, DeSanctis sided with the communists in China and he fought very hard that this not take place,” Mr. Trump added.
Mr. Trump has previously leveled the same accusations against Mr. DeSantis during a July campaign stop, but his charges are not completely accurate, according to PolitiFact.
In 2018, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on over $300 billion on Chinese goods. Farmers took a heavy economic blow as a result of the move, and Mr. Trump’s White House promised to send $28 billion in subsidies to ease the financial hit. PolitiFact reported that the Trump White House actually shelled out $23 billion.
At the time, Mr. DeSantis was a member of Congress running to be Florida’s governor. Mr. DeSantis told Fox News in 2018 that he was supportive of then-President Trump’s pressure campaign against China, but was worried about retaliation against farmers.
During another Fox News interview later that year, he said he was “not a fan” of billions of dollars in farm subsidies.
The duo are set to cross paths in Iowa on Saturday at the Iowa State University and University of Iowa rivalry football game, which has also drawn fellow presidential hopefuls North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
Despite four indictments and 91 criminal charges, Mr. Trump still remains the heavy favorite to earn the GOP nomination for president amongst the crowded field. The former president holds a commanding 39-point lead in national polling averages over Mr. DeSantis, who has consistently held on to second place.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washigtontimes.com.