Ron DeSantis of Florida on Friday over his support for farmers, saying his chief rival for the Republican presidential nomination would be “a catastrophe” for the country’s agriculture industry.
Mr. Trump claimed at a rally in Iowa that Mr. DeSantis would outsource American farming jobs overseas and oppose the federal mandate for ethanol, a fuel made from corn and other crops.
Support for ethanol, which Iowa is a national leader in producing, is a quadrennial issue in presidential elections in this early voting state.
In 2017, Mr. DeSantis supported legislation that would end the renewable fuel standard, a nearly two-decade-old standard that requires refiners to blend biofuel into gasoline nationwide.
Then, he eagerly highlighted what he claimed was his rival’s history of opposing an issue that carries outsize political weight in Iowa.
Persons:
Donald J, Trump, Ron DeSantis, DeSantis
Organizations:
Gov, Republican, North American Free Trade
Locations:
Florida, Iowa, Bluffs , Iowa