Trump may have found inspiration for 'Meatball Ron' nickname in a surprising place

Donald Trump loves to denigrate and define his opponents with mocking nicknames, and he's reportedly got a new one for his strongest would-be rival.

The former president has denied a New York Times report that he's workshopping a new swipe against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who seems to be his most viable challenge, but Daily Beast columnist Matt Lewis examined the reasons he might have chosen to slur an Italian-American politician as a meatball.

"Let’s be honest, Trump is an equal opportunity offender," Lewis wrote. "His goal is to come up with some way… any way to define, diminish, and humiliate his opponents. He works diligently at this effort, testing and revising his slurs. And while 'DeSanctimonious' was a good first effort, it also had too many syllables. Likewise, 'Shutdown Ron,' the other name he is reportedly toying with, doesn’t have the same ring as 'Meatball Ron.'"

The Times report suggests the nickname he's spitballing is a "dig at his appearance," which Lewis describes as "shorter" and "pudgier," and also "hinting at a lack of social grace," but he found a possible inspiration that Trump is certainly familiar with as a fan of the "Rocky" movies.

"In the cinematic classic 'Rocky III,' a professional wrestler dubbed 'Thunder Lips' (played by Hulk Hogan) battles the 'Italian Stallion' Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) in what is ostensibly an exhibition match pitting wrestler against boxer," Lewis wrote. "Before the fight, Hogan’s character, who later goes berserk and throws Rocky out of the ring, describes the billing as 'The ultimate male versus the ultimate meatball.'"

Lewis recalled that cinematic showdown after reading about the "Meatball Ron" nickname, and he said the new-and-improved insult might join other Trump classics like "Crooked Hillary" and "Little Marco," which effectively defined past opponents in catchy and succinct ways.

"We are still at the beginning of this incipient battle," Lewis wrote. "DeSantis hasn’t even declared yet. Still, the floating of nicknames suggests to me that the gloves are coming off and things are going to get darker and more extreme."