‘The President attacked me’: Nikki Fried raising money off Donald Trump’s denunciation
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried

fried
Trump called Fried 'radical' and she's fundraising off it.

Nikki Fried, Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, had a limited speaking role Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention.

But the first-term member of the Florida Cabinet is making it count, especially in light of President Donald Trump‘s denunciation of her and other speakers in a tandem “keynote speech” featuring other rising figures in the party.

Trump took task with what he called the “radical 17,” saying they held “far-left positions that are well outside of the mainstream.”

Fried, the President claimed, is a gun-grabber just like the Democratic nominee.

She “opposes Second Amendment rights. It’s no wonder she supports Joe Biden, who says he will come for Americans’ guns,” the President blogged.

The Commissioner’s response, delivered in the form of a fundraising pitch from her “Florida Consumers First” political committee, is that the President “attacked” her.

“It’s time to fight back. When Trump attacked me, he attacked all of us — can you give $20.00, $40.00, or $60.00 to help us defend against his childish insults?”

The fundraising appeal from the Fried political committee comes at a time when fundraising has been sluggish for the political operation, with donors seemingly more focused on the 2020 primary slate.

In the first two weeks of August, the Florida Consumers First committee raised just over $10,000, with the last big week of fundraising coming in late June.

Florida Consumers First has roughly $875,000 on hand, with most donations of late being of the small dollar variety, which helps to support ongoing operations but won’t be enough for the commissioner’s next campaign.

What that campaign is, meanwhile, remains to be seen.

Fried is “looking at” a campaign against Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022, she told a local Miami media outlet earlier this month.

While that is not the same as announcing a formal challenge, being willing to voice that publicly is a move forward for Fried, who has jousted with the Governor for months, with DeSantis successfully marginalizing her in terms of the executive branch coronavirus response.

Fried has not been shy about criticizing DeSantis. As the Biden campaign messages to Floridians, expect the commissioner to play a key role, dragging Trump and DeSantis in tandem and perhaps offering a preview of the 2022 action awaiting Sunshine State voters.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has written for FloridaPolitics.com since 2014. He is based in Northeast Florida. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


10 comments

  • Sonja Fitch

    August 20, 2020 at 1:06 pm

    Keep it up Nikki! The goptrump cult sociopath leader traitor Trump now is pushing for cannibals and pedophiles by endorsing Qanon( queers anonymous)! Trump is a dangerous paranoid delusional liar! Vote out Trump!

    • John McMahon

      August 21, 2020 at 2:15 am

      Sonja Fitscheries is living proof why brothers and sisters should NOT have children. So much hate for a white privileged low IQ undereducated Antifa spoiled suburb privileged person ! Truth hurts!JUST saying somebody needs a hug? Leave the Kool-Aid alone girl!

      • James R. Miles

        August 21, 2020 at 11:21 am

        And you are apparently a little retarded yourself who can’t see the forest for the trees. Trump is the worst President in history who is taking this country down with him and turning it into a fascist state. Suppressing the ability to vote because he can’t win any other way. I am sure you approve of voter suppression too just like all Trumpsters who always have very low I.Q.’s! Feel better now?

        • John McMahon

          August 22, 2020 at 3:38 pm

          James Miles , what does the R stand for? Reprobate or Repulsive? Find your safe space SNOWFLAKE if your tiny little Democrat panties get twisted so easy ! Did you speak out when your fascist Barak Obama’s regime of sodomites like you forced little Mexican children into cold cages at the border ?

  • eyeroll

    August 20, 2020 at 1:10 pm

    Playing the victim. How empowering of her.

  • TED KRUZE

    August 20, 2020 at 1:13 pm

    Getting “tweeted-at” by Donnie Dipschitz is about the equivalent of accidentally stepping in dog poo on your evening walk through the park. No big deal! It’ll just wear off as you keep walking.

    Trump is going to lose on Nov. 3rd by the biggest margin since Johnson obliterated Goldwater 61%-39% in 1964 – and I’m certain the Dems will take more than the four GOP seats in the U.S. Senate necessary to take over the majority – and I believe the Dems will do exactly the same in 2022 in Florida to (FINALLY!) re-take the majority in the state Senate. And, OF COURSE, Ms. Fried will challenge TrumpNut DeSycophantis for the Governor’s Mansion – AND WILL WIN!

    DUMP TRUMP 2020!

    VOTE DEM 2020!

    NO MORE REPUBLICANS!

    • Ocean Joe

      August 20, 2020 at 1:40 pm

      Val Demmings is the far better candidate. She can win the primary, and the general. She is a moderate and she would make a great governor. If she decides to run against Rubio, she can likely win that race too. Whichever race she takes, John Morgan should take the other.

      • Harold Finch

        August 21, 2020 at 9:38 am

        What a buffoon!!! You are living in a dream-world!!

  • Paul

    August 21, 2020 at 8:44 am

    Nikki helped start the investigation into the border wall scammers. Where were the “law and order” party when their own were getting ripped off? Supporting Trump will get you ripped off. Enjoy it while you can!

  • Charlotte Greenbarg

    August 21, 2020 at 2:38 pm

    Hilarious. She lives with a married man who beats her! And she’s crying about words.

Comments are closed.


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