‘DeSanctimonious’: Trump Takes A Jab At DeSantis Ahead Of The Midterms

 Former President Donald Trump mocked Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by calling him “Ron DeSanctimonious” at a campaign rally Saturday. 

Trump made the attack at an event in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, while reading from a poll that was conducted shortly after the FBI’s raid at Mar-a-Lago in August.

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“Trump at 71, Ron DeSanctimonious at 10%,” Trump said. “Mike Pence at 7, oh, Mike is doing better than I thought.” 

While he has not yet indicated that he intends to run, DeSantis is seen as Trump’s main challenger for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. Polls show that less educated Republicans tend to favor Trump, while Republicans with college degrees prefer DeSantis. 

While the two have been close allies, Trump has recently been distancing himself from DeSantis by not campaigning for him in his gubernatorial reelection bid this year or inviting him to his rallies in Florida. 

The former president is no stranger to nicknaming opponents. Examples include “Crooked Hillary,” “Low Energy Jeb,” “Lyin’ Ted,”, “Little Marco,” and “Sleepy Joe.” 

Several conservative media personalities reacted negatively to Trump’s attack on DeSantis. Conservative podcaster Matt Walsh, who has been a critic of the former president, said that Trump won’t “take this one down” by making up a “dumb nickname.”

“DeSantis is an extremely effective conservative governor who has had real policy wins and real cultural wins,” said Walsh. “Also, nice job launching your public attack against the most popular conservative governor in America three days before the midterms when we’re all supposed to be showing a united front.”