Smoke 'em if you've got 'em: Florida's Ron DeSantis celebrates cigars

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is featured on the cover of Cigar Aficionado magazine's June issue.
• DeSantis is using signed copies of the magazine to raise money for his political action committee.
• The governor notes that cigar-making is a 150-year-old tradition in Florida.

As the Pink Floyd song goes, "Have a cigar, you're gonna go far." Just look at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis, who recently was spotted smoking a cigar while playing golf 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.

Now, he's using his cover story to raise money for his political action committee, Restore Our Nation, or RON PAC. 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.

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, he said, “You never know,” at a conference in Los Angeles earlier in May.

The fundraising email points out that "Florida is home to more cigar companies than any other state in the country," including Oliva, Padrón 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, the email says.

The cigar he's smoking in an Instagram video of him playing golf posted by the "sarge4golf" account is a Padrón: "This is a real cigar, not a communist cigar," he says when asked if he's smoking a Cohiba, originally a Cuban brand.

The email also brags that DeSantis "has been a staunch ally of Florida's cigar industry since day one."

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.

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.

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 José Oliva, of Oliva Cigars fame, became Florida House speaker in 2018.

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.

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 – and smoking a cigar.

Jim Rosica is a member of the USA TODAY Network – Florida Capital Bureau. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X.com: @JimRosicaFL.