The Insider reports:
Former President Donald Trump finally bestowed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with one of his infamous nicknames, signaling a rivalry between the two popular Republicans is heating up as both men could run for the GOP nomination for president in 2024.
Trump was referencing a poll that showed he was in the lead among other potential Republican nominees when he offhandedly called DeSantis “Ron DeSanctimonious.”
It was the first time Trump had debuted the nickname publicly, but New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, who has long covered Trump, said on Twitter the former president had been testing out the nickname over the past two weeks.
Read the full article. Roger Stone used the nickname last week in a post on Truth Social.
“Ron DeSanctimonious” pic.twitter.com/b7jek5597R
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) November 6, 2022
I’m old enough to remember when DeSantis claimed the Fake News was trying to invent tensions between Trump and him, when we wrote what Trump was saying about him privately. Well, it’s starting to come out in the open. https://t.co/On3mt61MUg
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) November 6, 2022
Everyone who tries to soak up a single ray of his spotlight becomes a target. Even Ron Desantis. A malignant narcissist can suffer no rivals. https://t.co/VgY8aoWRCl
— Ron Filipkowski ?? (@RonFilipkowski) November 6, 2022
“Ron DeSanctimonious” is the political equivalent of Van Halen coming back with Gary Cherone on vocals. That’s past your prime stuff. That’s jumping the shark jumping the shark. If that’s your new material, just do reunion tours heavy on nostalgia, cause you tapped out. #Lame
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) November 6, 2022