Campaigning for Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis on Saturday, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue called Tuesday’s vote “so cotton-pickin’ important.”
“Public policy matters. Leadership matters,” Perdue said at a Lakeland rally for DeSantis. “And that is why this election is so cotton-pickin’ important to the state of Florida. I hope you all don’t mess it up.”
Politico first reported Perdue’s remarks Saturday, citing audio from the liberal group American Bridge. (Hear the audio below.)
In June, former Trump deputy campaign manager David Bossie was temporarily suspended from Fox News airwaves after he told Democratic strategist Joel Payne, who is black, that he was “out of [his] cotton-picking mind.” The network said in a statement at the time that Bossie’s comments were “deeply offensive and wholly inappropriate.”
A spokesperson for DeSantis’ campaign, Stephen Lawson, told Politico Saturday: “You would have to ask Governor Perdue about any of his remarks. We were happy to have him in Polk County campaigning with us.”
DeSantis’ opponent, Democratic nominee Andrew Gillum, would be Florida’s first American American governor if elected.
In August, the day after winning the Republican nomination in the state, DeSantis told Floridians: “The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up.” The comment was widely seen as a reference to Gillum’s race, though DeSantis denied that.
Listen to Perdue’s Saturday remarks below:
? Wow: While campaigning for racist Ron DeSantis, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue manages to use the phrase “cotton picking” when making the argument against electing the first black governor in Florida’s history.? #FLGov pic.twitter.com/zDmbqB50ua
— American Bridge (@American_Bridge) November 3, 2018
