White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Wednesday defended President Trump‘s assertion that shoppers are required to show ID when purchasing groceries.
In one exchange during Wednesday’s press briefing, ABC News reporter Cecilia Vega asked Sanders if she knew the last time Trump visited a grocery store as part of a line of questioning about Trump’s support for toughening voter ID laws.
“I’m not sure. I’m not sure why that matters, either,” Sanders said.
Multiple reporters quickly noted that Trump claimed at a Tuesday night rally that grocery stores require shoppers to show identification as part of his argument for implementing stricter voter ID laws.
“You go to the grocery store, I go to the grocery store, I’ve never had to show ID,” Vega said.
“Certainly if you go to a grocery store and you buy beer and wine you’re certainly going to show your ID,” Sanders responded.
The press corps noted that Trump has said he does not drink alcohol.
“He’s not saying every time he went in, he said when you go to the grocery store,” Sanders retorted.
“I’m pretty sure that everybody in here who’s been to a grocery store that’s purchased beer or wine has probably had to show their ID,” she continued. “If they didn’t then that’s probably a problem with the grocery store.”
Trump’s initial comment came at a campaign rally in Florida in support of Rep. Ron DeSantis’s (R-Fla.) gubernatorial bid. The president claimed tougher voter ID laws are needed to prevent illegal voting. He has in the past claimed without evidence that he lost the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election because of illegal votes cast for his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
As part of his rationale, he highlighted other instances where ID is required, and landed on grocery stores as an example.
“You know if you go out and you want to buy groceries, you need a picture on a card,” he said. “You need ID.”
“You go out and you want to buy anything, you need ID and you need your picture,” he continued. “In this country the only time you don’t need it, in many cases, is when you want to vote.”
Reporters, political commentators and social media users quickly noted that grocery stores do not require ID for most purchases, aside from certain items like cigarettes and alcohol, and suggested it had been many years since Trump had done his own grocery shopping.
[The Hill]
