The following article by John T. Bennet was posted on the Roll Call website August 1, 2018:
President again fixates on crowd size, 2016 election win
ANALYSIS — President Donald Trump showed again Tuesday evening why he is as much the disruptor in chief as he is the commander in chief, jetting to Florida to weigh in on the Sunshine State’s Republican gubernatorial primary.
Trump called the candidate he has endorsed, Rep. Ron DeSantis, onstage early at a rally in Tampa, even branding him with a compliment he reserves for a select few — a “tough cookie.” Presidents typically have avoided getting involved in primaries for state and and congressional races. But not Trump, who is eager to put candidates who share his nationalist and conservative bona fides into elected office at all levels.
And DeSantis showed that’s just why Trump decided to back him instead of Florida Agriculture Commissioner (and former congressman) Adam H. Putnam when the president asked him to address the audience.