{"id":273209,"date":"2026-05-16T06:25:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T06:25:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/273209\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T06:25:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T06:25:25","slug":"smoke-em-if-youve-got-em-floridas-ron-desantis-celebrates-cigars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/273209\/","title":{"rendered":"Smoke ’em if you’ve got ’em: Florida’s Ron DeSantis celebrates cigars"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the Pink Floyd song goes, “Have a cigar, you’re gonna go far.” Just look at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

DeSantis, who recently was spotted smoking a cigar while playing golf<\/a> at Trump Doral, is on the cover of the June issue of Cigar Aficionado and is interviewed inside. He also attended the magazine’s May 8 “Big Smoke Florida” event in Miami Beach<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Ron<\/p>\n

Ron DeSantis as seen on the June 2026 cover of Cigar Aficionado magazine.<\/p>\n

Now, he’s using his cover story to raise money for his political action committee, Restore Our Nation, or RON PAC<\/a>. With a donation of $25 or more, contributors are put in a drawing for one of 10 signed copies, according to a May 14 email.<\/p>\n

DeSantis is term-limited as governor this year but is leaving the door open for another White House run after his unsuccessful attempt in 2023-24. As Politico reported<\/a>, he said, \u201cYou never know,\u201d at a conference in Los Angeles earlier in May.<\/p>\n

The fundraising email points out that “Florida is home to more cigar companies than any other state in the country,” including Oliva, Padr\u00f3n and Fuente. Cigar-making is a 150-year-old tradition in Florida that began with Cuban immigrants who made Tampa’s Ybor City the Cigar Capital of the World<\/a>, the email says.<\/p>\n

The cigar he’s smoking in an Instagram video of him playing golf posted by the “sarge4golf” account is a Padr\u00f3n: “This is a real cigar, not a communist cigar,” he says when asked if he’s smoking a Cohiba, originally a Cuban brand.<\/p>\n

The email also brags that DeSantis “has been a staunch ally of Florida’s cigar industry since day one.”<\/p>\n

In 2022, DeSantis signed a bill into law that allows cities and counties to ban smoking on their public beaches and in public parks, but exempts “unfiltered,” or premium, cigars. He’s also been a beneficiary of the cigar industry’s largesse when it comes to political contributions.<\/p>\n

\"Ron<\/p>\n

Ron DeSantis is interviewed in the June 2026 issue of Cigar Aficionado. This picture of the magazine was posted on X by his chief of staff, Jason Weida.<\/p>\n

As of May 15, content from the June issue wasn’t available on the Cigar Aficionado website. But some people have posted on social media this week that they were able to buy a copy at their local cigar shop. The cover price is $8.99.<\/p>\n

From what can be read in a photo of the first page of the interview posted on X by Jason Weida, the governor’s chief of staff, DeSantis says he really got into cigars when Jos\u00e9 Oliva, of Oliva Cigars fame, became Florida House speaker in 2018.<\/p>\n

He said he usually smokes on the patio of the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee, after his kids go to bed and usually with a Scotch.<\/p>\n

The interview is accompanied by a photo of him in a blue sport coat and jeans, chipping a golf ball on the mansion’s front lawn \u2013 and smoking a cigar.<\/p>\n

Jim Rosica\u00a0is a member of the USA TODAY Network \u2013\u00a0Florida Capital Bureau. Reach him at\u00a0jrosica@tallahassee.com<\/a>\u00a0and follow him on X.com:\u00a0@<\/a>JimRosicaFL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida’s Ron DeSantis uses Cigar Aficionado profile in fundraising<\/a><\/p>\n