A.G. Gancarski
At a bill signing event in Santa Rosa Beach, local grouper sandwich prices weren’t reeling in Gov. Ron DeSantis, who used the impromptu inflation anecdote to complain about the cost of feeding his family.
“I’m looking at this sign, $32 for a grouper sandwich. Those are definitely getting those tourists to pony up,” DeSantis said.
“Hey, man, that’s America. So, you know, do what you’ve got to do. I don’t know that I would pull the trigger on $32. I love grouper sandwiches. I don’t know if I could pull the trigger on $32.”
DeSantis went on to note that inflation is “unbelievable” everywhere, arguing that “something’s got to give” as he lamented the cost of fast food for his three children.
“I can’t get through the drive through at McDonald’s without spending 40, 50 bucks, it seems,” he said. “It used to be, you could get it very cheap. Now it’s just, it’s more and more.”
Despite the high costs of fast food, DeSantis’ enthusiasm for the genre is a matter of record. Last year, he said In & Out would “print money” if they had franchises in Florida. He also has enthused about Raising Canes, and First Lady Casey DeSantis called the family “gas station connoisseurs” when they were campaigning in Iowa back in 2023.
On Tuesday, DeSantis suggested that lowering property taxes would help people afford fast food and other consumer items as part of his recent push to eliminate millage funding. He likened property taxes to “unrealized gains” on stock.
