Former President Donald Trump said he was retiring his nickname for former GOP presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Trump said he was retiring DeSantis' nickname "DeSanctimonious" while speaking with reporters on Sunday shortly after the Florida governor suspended his presidential campaign.
"That name is officially retired," Trump said as supporters in the crowd laughed.
Trump began referring to the Florida governor as "DeSanctimonious" several days before the 2022 midterm elections in which DeSantis secured a second term in office. In a press release several days before Trump officially launched his 2024 re-election campaign, the former President referred to DeSantis as an "average Republican governor with great public relations."
Last March, DeSantis was asked his opinion on Trump's nickname during an interview with Piers Morgan.
"I don't know how to spell 'DeSanctimonious,'" DeSantis said. "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."
"You know, you can call me whatever you want," he added. "I mean, just as long as you also call me a winner."
The Florida governor launched his presidential campaign last May, touting his presidency as a "great American comeback."
DeSantis announced the suspension of his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump for re-election in a Sunday video shared to X.
“We launched this campaign to bring accountability to government, to regain sovereignty at our border, and to restore sanity to our society,” the Florida governor said. “Reversing the decline of this nation requires leadership that delivers big results for the people we are elected to serve.”
“If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome – more campaign stops, more interviews – I would do it,” DeSantis said. “But I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory. Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign.”
“I am proud to have delivered on 100% of my promises and I will not stop now,” he continued. “It is clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance. They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him.”
DeSantis said Trump was "superior" to President Joe Biden.
“He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear,” said the governor. He added that Nikki Haley represents “a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism.”
