Trump-DeSantis 'pudding fingers' ad: Social Security, Medicare cuts sparked memes, jokes

The three-finger pudding political attack ad that Donald Trump has launched at Gov. Ron DeSantis is aimed at far more than his purported dessert eating habits. It's aimed at Florida's reliable, and plentiful, older voters.

The ad has spawned plenty of memes and salvos on social media — like the nickname "Vladimir Puddin" for DeSantis. Perhaps overlooked in the jabs is the critique of DeSantis' voting record on "senior entitlement" programs Social Security and Medicare.

The Trump ad claims DeSantis voted to cut the two programs, plus raise the retirement age to 70. The ad omits that Trump, as president in 2020, reportedly told CNBC he would consider cuts to both programs in a second term and that he also supported rescinding the payroll taxes that fund both programs.

Jimmy Fallon jokes: "Tonight Show" host imagines future "pudding fingers" ads between Trump and DeSantis

The political paradox is that most Republicans would rather not mention either Social Security or Medicare these days. That's because of the way that Florida U.S. Sen. Rick Scott got posterized on the topic by President Joe Biden after this year's State of the Union address.

But we digress. Back to the pudding. And a hint at another food topic.

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What does the pudding fingers ad say? Does DeSantis actually eat that way?

The commercial does not show DeSantis, but an actor who repeatedly dips his fingers into a container of chocolate pudding and shovels the dessert into his mouth.

"Ron DeSantis loves sticking his fingers where they don't belong," the voice-over narration states. "And we're not just talking about pudding. DeSantis has his dirty fingers all over senior entitlements."

The reference to eating pudding with three fingers was first mentioned in a Daily Beast story in March. It cited sources who said they witnessed the governor, on a private plane, consume a pudding dessert with his fingers instead of a utensil.

In a subsequent interview with Piers Morgan, DeSantis said he did not "remember ever doing that. Maybe when I was a kid." He then laughed off the assertion asking if that was the best "ammunition" critics have to fire at him.

"For me, they're talking about pudding," DeSantis said. "Like, is that really the best you got? OK, bring it on."

The ad, which is being aired Make America Great Again Inc., um, brought it on.

"Tell Ron DeSantis to keep his pudding fingers off our money," the ad concludes. "Oh, and somebody get this man a spoon."

Why are Social Security and Medicare attack ads so effective in Florida?

Voter statistics, that's why. The Kaiser Family Foundation reported that in Florida during the November 2020 elections more than 3 million people over the age of 65 cast a ballot while another 3.3 million between the ages of 45 and 64 also voted.

Retired voters, those nearing retirement and those in the age range where they focus on retirement planning, accounted for almost two-thirds of the total number of Floridians who voted in that election.

What's that about Joe Biden and Rick Scott on Social Security and Medicare?

Rick Scott, who will run for re-election next year, had a U.S. national deficit and debt reduction plan that called for sunsetting all federal programs every five years unless Congress reauthorized them.

Scott unveiled it about a year ago, and it was promptly snubbed even by Capitol Hill Republicans as too drastic. A key concern is that polarization and brass-knuckle politics in Washington would put critical programs like Social Security, Medicare, national defense and caring for military veterans at risk of expiring.

During the State of the Union speech, Biden called out Scott's program, which elicited howls of denials from Republicans in the House chamber despite the fact that is what Scott's plan said. Scott himself disputed the president's claim saying he did not intend to put the popular programs at risk.

But he subsequently changed his plan to carve out Social Security, Medicare, national defense and the Veterans Administration and other unnamed essential programs. In the wake of Scott's move, other national Republicans, including former Vice President Mike Pence, have called for addressing the entitlement programs to shore up their financial standing.

Remember when DeSantis made Popeyes chicken sandwich a priority?

DeSantis has a taste for food, just saying. Back in the fall of 2019, DeSantis made Popeyes' chicken sandwich his cause célèbre, even dropping by the company's Miami headquarters and joking he might sign an "executive order" to make the popular sandwiches more available.

"I’ve been looking for the elusive chicken sandwich, but the stores are still out. Maybe it’s time to issue an executive order requiring all Popeyes in Florida to re-stock them ASAP??" the governor posted on his Twitter account.

So, can we expect Trump to fire other food wars ads at DeSantis? Or maybe DeSantis takes aim at Trump's penchant for fast food, like McDonalds?

Not trying to stir anything here. Just pointing out both political leaders' taste for fast foods.

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump, DeSantis three-finger pudding ad, memes are jabs at retirement