Former President Donald Trump tried out a new nickname for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
"Former President Donald Trump took a swipe at Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis at a rally on Saturday night referring to him as 'Ron DeSanctimonious in what could be a sign of growing tension between the two potential presidential candidates," Fox News reported. "The jab from Trump comes as the two are widely considered the two top Republican contenders to clinch the Republican presidential nomination and reports have circulated about possible growing tension between the two camps."
Trump offered the insult while bragging about his poll numbers.
"We're winning big, big, big in the Republican Party for the nomination like nobody has ever seen before," Trump said. "There it is, Trump at 71%, Ron DeSantimonious at 10%, Mike Pence at 7% -- oh, Mike's doing better than I thought."
Axios reporter Jonathan Swan tweeted, "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."
CNN's Kristen Holmes noted the nickname "comes as relations between the two have grown ice cold ahead of potential 2024 matchup."
John Cassidy of The New Yorker thought the nickname was too lengthy.
"Trump’s losing it that’s the best he can manage," he wrote. "'DeSanctimonious' wouldn’t fit on the front page of the NY Post. Tough for a t-shirt too."
Hector Roos, the Libertarian Party nominee challenging DeSantis on Tuesday wrote, "I'm ded."
He included a "rolling on the floor laughing" emoji.
"It's on," wrote Wall Street Journal film critic Kyle Smith. "Ron DeSanctimonious vs Donald DeF*ckingIdiot."
AP and Daily Journal correspondent Mark Ambrogi wrote, "I guess we'll see if God really sent us a fighter, or if he fall line like Little Marco, Lyin' Ted."
