Does Donald Trump think you need photo ID to ‘buy groceries’? He appeared to suggest as much
For many, Trump’s claim brought to mind reports of President George H.W. Bush expressing amazement upon seeing a supermarket scanner during his 1992 re-election campaign
An assertion on Tuesday night by President Donald Trump that identification is required to purchase groceries prompted a cascade of criticism from the media and his adversaries, including the lawyer for adult-film star Stormy Daniels.
During a freewheeling rally in Tampa, Trump was making the case for stricter voter identification laws, a cause that is broadly popular among his conservative base, when he made the false claim about grocery shopping.
“If you go out and you want to buy groceries, you need a picture on a card, you need ID,” Trump said at the event at the Florida State Fairgrounds. “You go out and you want to buy anything, you need ID and you need your picture.”
Although photo identification is required for some purchases, such as alcohol or cigarettes, by and large, it’s not.
Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for Daniels, was among the scores of critics who took to Twitter to point that out – and, in his case, put in a plug for a possible 2020 presidential bid to challenge Trump.
“People ask me why I think I can prevail against Mr. Trump,” Avenatti wrote. “I tell them it’s because (1) I’ve bought groceries before and (2) I know you don’t need an ID to buy groceries.”