Former President Donald Trump has reportedly been referring to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) as “Meatball Ron” ahead of the latter’s expected 2024 White House bid.
Trump has insulted the popular Florida governor in casual conversations, per the New York Times, describing him as “Meatball Ron,” a likely jab at his appearance, and “Shutdown Ron,” for his actions putting restrictions in place at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
DESANTIS REBUTS TRUMP’S ‘GROOMER’ ATTACK, INSISTS HE DOESN’T ‘SMEAR OTHER REPUBLICANS’
Trump’s attacks on his likely biggest Republican 2024 rival are not by any means new. For months, he has thrown digs at DeSantis, mostly opting for the derogatory “Ron Sanctimonious” to describe his expected challenger. But the ferocity of the attacks seems to have ratcheted up a notch.
Less than two weeks ago, Trump wrote on his Truth Social account, “The real Ron is a RINO GLOBALIST, who closed quickly down Florida and even its beaches. Loved the Vaccines and wasted big money on ‘Testing.’ How quickly people forget!”
“RINO” is a disparaging acronym meaning “Republican In Name Only.”
On Tuesday, Trump took to Truth Social to comment on a photo of a man with three women with their faces blurred, with text over the photo reading, “Here is Ron DeSanctimonious grooming high school girls with alcohol as a teacher,” along with a throwing up emoji. Trump wrote, “That’s not Ron, is it? He would never do such a thing!” The post was just one in a series of them about the photo.
A 2021 article from HillReporter.com makes the claims about DeSantis and cites an anonymous source. The claims were not corroborated by any other outlets, including the Washington Examiner. These attacks represent just a few of the many the former president has lobbed at DeSantis since November.
DeSantis has countered Trump’s various attacks either by either brushing them off and focusing on his own job in Florida or occasionally poking fun back at the former president’s insecurities.
“I’d just say this: I spend my time delivering results for the people of Florida and fighting against Joe Biden,” DeSantis told reporters on Wednesday. “I don’t spend my time trying to smear other Republicans.”
Trump is still the only big-name Republican to have officially announced their 2024 White House Bid. That is expected to change when former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley makes an expected announcement of her running on Wednesday. But there have been no concrete leaks about DeSantis’s intentions so far.
The Florida governor is undoubtedly a rising star in the Republican Party, and many conservatives see him as the necessary transition from Trump after a disappointing 2022 midterm elections for the GOP and the party’s presidential loss to Joe Biden in 2020.
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Trump’s abrasive behavior clearly appeals to some members of the populace, but DeSantis’s calm demeanor in responding to Trump’s attacks presumably shows his camp sees taking the high road as the better option right now.
If DeSantis unexpectedly announces that he will not seek to be president in 2024, Trump will almost certainly focus his hostilities elsewhere. But if as most people expect, DeSantis announces that he is challenging Trump, the former president will likely take his assaults up a notch, creating a cascade of chaos in the GOP as the presidential election approaches.
