Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has revealed which of former President Donald Trump's nicknames he likes the best.
Trump frequently refers to DeSantis as "Ron DeSanctimonious" or "Meatball Ron."
Piers Morgan asked DeSantis about the nicknames in a preview of an interview set to be released on Thursday.
“What is your favorite nickname that Trump’s given you so far?" Morgan asked. "Is it Ron DeSanctimonious or Meatball Ron?"
"I don’t know how to spell ‘DeSanctimonious,'" DeSantis replied. "I don’t really know what it means, but you know, I kind of like it. It’s long. It’s got a lot of vowels. I mean, we’d go with that. That’s fine." Ron DeSantis responds to the Trump nicknames for him “Ron DeSanctimonious” and “Meatball Ron” pic.twitter.com/ORmO8KYcPQ
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) March 22, 2023
DeSantis added, "you know, you can call me whatever you want. I mean, just as long as you, you know, also call me a winner."
Trump has been taking aim at the governor for declining to rule out a 2024 run against the former president. Trump has repeatedly stated that he believes a potential challenge would be a sign of disloyalty, as he endorsed him in Florida's gubernatorial race in 2018.
DeSantis had not fired any digs back at Trump until this week when he commented on the possible indictment in New York.
During a press conference on Monday, DeSantis noted all the crimes in Manhattan that District Attorney Alvin Bragg does not appear to be focused on — before launching a verbal grenade at Trump.
“I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair. I just, I can’t speak to that," DeSantis said before turning back to Bragg and saying, "that's an example of pursuing a political agenda."
The possible indictment stems from an alleged $130,000 hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 over an alleged sexual encounter that the two had in 2006. His former attorney, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to charges over the payment in 2018 and was sentenced to three years in prison. So DeSantis thinks that Dems weaponizing the law to indict President Trump is a "manufactured circus" & isn't a "real issue"
Pure weakness. Now we know why he was silent all weekend. He's totally owned by Karl Rove, Paul Ryan & his billionaire donors. 100% Controlled Opposition. https://t.co/3fT06rlbH5
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 20, 2023
Donald Trump Jr. tweeted in response, "So DeSantis thinks that Dems weaponizing the law to indict President Trump is a 'manufactured circus' & isn't a 'real issue' Pure weakness. Now we know why he was silent all weekend. He's totally owned by Karl Rove, Paul Ryan & his billionaire donors. 100% Controlled Opposition."
If Trump is charged, he will be the first former president in US history to ever be arrested after leaving office. He is also the current leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
