Putnam’s Campaign Has Taken Three Different Positions on Family Separation

Will Adam Putnam finally stand up to Donald Trump and call on him to immediately end his family separation policy?

Over the past four days, Putnam has taken a series of contradictory positions on the family separation crisis — and it is still not clear where he stands:

• Saturday Afternoon — Putnam Dodges Question on Family Separation: In response to a question about family separation, Putnam told Florida Politics that his “Secure Florida First” plan would “help to make sure Floridians are not picking up an undue portion of the bill for these types of criminal illegal alien activities.” He also refused to call out President Trump’s zero tolerance policy.
• Monday Evening — Putnam Endorses Trump’s Immigration Agenda: Putnam sent a fundraising email saying “President Trump has led the way with his aggressive agenda on illegal immigration “​and is “finding solutions to problems that have been ignored for years by the Left.” Putnam explicitly endorsed Trump’s immigration policies, saying “I’m proud to support the President’s agenda.”
• Tuesday Morning — Putnam Backtracks, But Still Won’t Call Out Donald Trump: A Putnam spokesperson tells the Associated Press that: “It’s important that we enforce our laws in a humane way and families should be kept together” and according to the AP believes that “DC needs to work with Trump.”

While​ Putnam has been silent on Trump, Florida House Republicans have made clear that the Trump administration can, and should, immediately end the family separation policy:

• Congressman Dennis Ross: “This is the Trump administration’s policy on how to handle and interpret the law, so it is up to the Trump administration to change that.”
• Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen: “President Trump has chosen to implement this policy and he can put an end to it but he chooses to not do so and instead blames others.”