Former President Donald Trump is reportedly workshopping several insulting nicknames for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in anticipation of a potential primary race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.[0] Bloomberg recently reported that Trump is considering three nicknames for himself, which are “Tiny D,” “Ron Dishonest,” and “Ron DeEstablishment.”[1]
The former president has previously used other monikers such as “Ron DeSanctimonious” and “Meatball Ron” to attack DeSantis, and he recently responded to a New York Times report on the nicknames in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.[2] “I will never call Ron DeSanctimonious ‘Meatball’ Ron, as the Fake News is insisting I will,” Trump wrote.[3] “It would be totally inappropriate to use the word ‘meatball’ as a moniker for Ron!”[4]
The average U.S. president is about two inches taller than the average U.S. man, and every president since Jimmy Carter has been 5’11.5” or taller.[5] With DeSantis believed to be in the height range of 5’8” to 5’10”, it appears Trump is attempting to make his potential rival appear even smaller with the nickname “Tiny D”.
Trump has also responded to reports of his nickname workshopping with a post on Truth Social.[1] “All of the Fake News is reporting that I spend large amounts of my time coming up with a good ‘nickname’ for Ron DeSanctimonious, who is obviously going to give the presidential ‘thing’ a shot,” Trump wrote.[6] “They are all 100% wrong, I don’t even think about it — A very unimportant subject to me!!!”[6]
In addition to the new nicknames, Trump has also reportedly considered “Shutdown Ron” to criticize the governor’s early COVID-19 response.[7] During a podcast with Sebastian Gorka, Trump said of the nickname “Ron DeEstablishment,” “That’s not bad.[8] I’ve heard worse, you know.[9] They came out with lots of different names.[9] ‘Meatball.
0. “Donald Trump Spends Days Developing Nicknames For Rival Ron DeSantis” OK!, 7 Mar. 2023, https://okmagazine.com/p/donald-trump-his-team-spends-days-developing-nicknames-for-gop-rival-ron-desantis-report/
1. “Donald Trump Considering “Tiny D” As New Name For Ron DeSantis” HotNewHipHop, 5 Mar. 2023, https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/640832-donald-trump-considering-tiny-d-as-new-name-for-ron-desantis
2. “Even Donald Trump thinks this Ron DeSantis nickname is too dumb” indy100, 2 Mar. 2023, https://www.indy100.com/politics/trump/donald-trump-ron-desantis-nickname
3. “Donald Trump’s Nasty Ron DeSantis Nicknames, Ranked” New York Magazine, 7 Mar. 2023, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/03/donald-trump-ron-desantis-nickname-ranked.html
4. “Trump is testing new nickname for Ron DeSantis, including ‘Tiny D'” Business Insider, 6 Mar. 2023, https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-ron-desantis-nicknames-tiny-d-dishonest-report-2023-3
5. “Ron DeSantis embraces the high heel” Slate, 7 Mar. 2023, https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/03/ron-desantis-shoes-boots-high-heels.html
6. “Trump takes aim at DeSantis with new ‘DeSanctus’ nickname amid growing 2024 tension” Fox News, 2 Mar. 2023, https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-takes-aim-desantis-new-desanctus-nickname-amid-growing-2024-tension
7. “Trump is workshopping the nickname “Tiny D” for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis” LGBTQ Nation, 7 Mar. 2023, https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/03/trump-is-workshopping-the-nickname-tiny-d-for-florida-gov-ron-desantis/
8. “Trump spends days workshopping nicknames for DeSantis: report” msnNOW, 5 Mar. 2023, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-spends-days-workshopping-nicknames-for-desantis-report/ar-AA18emyS
9. “Trump Won’t Take Credit For ‘Meatball’ Ron DeSantis Nickname” UPROXX, 1 Mar. 2023, https://uproxx.com/viral/donald-trump-meatball-nickname-ron-desantis/
