Donald Trump claims Americans need ID to buy groceries at Florida rally

'Never been shopping I guess,' says critic

Donald Trump has wrongly claimed Americans need photo identification to buy groceries, prompting a slew of accusations he is out of touch with the lives of ordinary people.

The US president made the remarks in a freewheeling speech at a Florida rally, during which he defended his trade policy and accused Democrats of obstructing his agenda.

Mr Trump was railing against the idea of non-US citizens voting and advocating stricter voting laws when he said IDs were required for everything else, including food shopping.

“Only American citizens should vote in American elections, which is why the time has come for voter ID, like everything else,” he said at the event at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa.

“If you go out and you want to buy groceries, you need a picture on a card, you need ID. You go out and you want to buy anything, you need ID and you need your picture.”

Photo IDs are not needed to by groceries in shops and supermarkets in the United States, although they are required for purchases such as alcohol, cigarettes or some medicines.

“Where on earth does @realDonaldTrump buy groceries?! (Just kidding, we all know he doesn’t buy groceries),” said Boston City councillor Matt O’Malley on Twitter.

“Wow, never been shopping I guess, unless he is now planning extreme grocery vetting,” actor and screenwriter Kathy Gori said.

Referring to the US president’s discontinued meat brand, Comedian Adam Heath Avitable said: ”I hate having to show photo ID, provide a blood sample, and pee into a cup before I can buy my Trump steaks at the grocery store.”

A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to questions about when the billionaire president last bought groceries or anything else himself.

During a raucous rally aimed at boosting support for two Florida Republicans before the state’s primary, Mr Trump also defended his trade policy amid rising tensions with China.

He accused the country of having “targeted our farmers”, saying it was “not good, not nice”.

“You know what our farmers are saying? ‘It’s OK, we can take it,” he added.

Mr Trump’s administration last week announced plans for $12bn (£9bn) in temporary aid to help farmers deal with retaliatory tariffs from trading partners in response to new US policies.

At the Florida rally the US president backed Republican Ron DeSantis in a competitive primary for governor and backed the Senate campaign of his longtime ally, Governor Rick Scott.

“We have to make sure Rick Scott wins and wins big,” Mr Trump told the crowd. “It’s time to vote Bill Nelson out of office.”

Mr Trump, who is seeking Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court in the fall, made the case voters need to elect more Republicans, pointing to Democratic opposition to his pick.

Democrats “don’t want to give Trump any victory,” he said. “They will do anything they can to not help the Trump agenda.”

Associated Press contributed to this report