Former President Trump's super PAC launched a new ad aimed at Gov. Ron DeSantis's (R-Fla) taxes.
However, the problem? The same attack was launched by Adam Putnam in 2018, and even left-leaning Politifact debunked it.
The ad, titled "Old DeSantis," was launched by Make America Great Again Inc., points out DeSantis's past of supporting sales taxes and claims that, if elected president, he will "make you pay more."
"Ron 'DeSalesTax' had a plan ... to make you pay more. With a sales tax here and a sales tax there, here a tax, there a tax, everywhere a sales tax," the ad says, showing photos of meat, eggs, and machinery.
Referring to the Fair Tax Act, the ad claims the governor supported a 23 percent national sales tax where middle-class Americans pay more— which DeSantis co-sponsored and has come back to haunt him by his opponents when he ran for governor in 2018.
However, the state's favorable tax climate has encouraged many people to move to Florida, including Trump.
"The governor supported the concept of a Fair Tax, a plan to lower the overall tax burden on an individual by replacing all federal taxes. [It] sought to end the IRS, which was being weaponized by the Obama Administration. To describe only part of the plan in an attack is dishonest," DeSantis Press Secretary Bryan Griffin said.
Griffin also argued that DeSantis cut taxes to help families struggling with Bidenflation, reminding Americans that in 2022 the governor signed the largest tax relief package in Florida history.
This is not the first time MAGA Inc was caught spreading debunked Putnam ads, as noted by the National Review.
"Trump's attacks on DeSantis's entitlement record resemble those leveled by Adam Putnam during the 2018 Florida gubernatorial primary. Left-leaning Politifact classified the attacks as misleading given that DeSantis voted for non-binding budget resolutions that, even if adopted, would not have changed federal law and would not have therefore cut benefits for any Americans," the March article read.
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In 2019, the former president was also caught praising Florida's low taxes while bashing the millions of dollars he spends living in New York
"My family and I will be making Palm Beach, Florida, our permanent residence. I cherish New York and the people of New York, and always will, but unfortunately, despite the fact that I pay millions of dollars in city, state, and local taxes each year," Trump said.
Never Back Down pointed out that Trump has repeatedly supported the Fair Tax during his presidential run.
If Trump wants to steal pages from the establishment playbook to attack Ron DeSantis from the left, he has his own words to deal with.
— Never Back Down (@NvrBackDown24) May 12, 2023
Here he is repeatedly supporting the Fair Tax during his run for president. pic.twitter.com/iOSmV2vwPL
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