Former President Donald Trump has explained why he refers to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, his 2024 GOP presidential primary rival, as "Ron DeSanctimonious."
Trump, who has also repeatedly called the Republican governor "Ron DeSanctus" and "Meatball Ron," explained the "DeSanctimonious" nickname during a Fox News interview that aired on Tuesday night.
The former president took credit for DeSantis' 2018 Florida gubernatorial election victory, while telling host Bret Baier that he used the derogatory moniker because the governor had shown that he was "disloyal" by deciding to challenge him for the presidency.
"I got him elected and I thought it was very disloyal when he said 'yes, I'd run," Trump said. "I got him past two races. I got him past the primary because he was losing by 30 points or more ... It's a loyalty [question], I'm a big loyalist."
"Some people say ... loyalty doesn't mean anything in politics," he continued. "I say, 'to me, it does.' I got the guy elected. He came to see me, let's say weeping, because he was dead ... As soon as I endorsed him, he won the primary, it was over."
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines "sanctimonious" as "hypocritically pious or devout."
Trump, who remains the GOP frontrunner despite facing federal and state felony criminal trials, went on to suggest that DeSantis should have dropped plans to run against him in the 2024 election "just out of respect."
Newsweek has reached out to the DeSantis campaign via its website for comment.
DeSantis, who is likely aware of the ex-president's continued popularity among Republicans, has been reticent to engage with Trump's rhetoric directly since announcing his intention to challenge him in 2024.
However, the governor did address the ex-president's most frequent nickname for him before officially announcing his candidacy, saying, "I kind of like it," during a Piers Morgan interview in March.
"I don't know how to spell 'DeSanctimonious,'" DeSantis said. "I don't really know what it means but, you know, I kind of like it. It's long. It's got a lot of vowels. I mean, we'd go with that. That's fine."
"You know, you can call me whatever you want," he added. "I mean, just as long as you also call me a winner."
The governor's wife, Casey DeSantis, has also recently been handed the nickname "Walmart Melania"—a reference to former first lady Melania Trump—by critics that include some Trump supporters.
While Trump himself has not publicly referred to Casey DeSantis with the nickname, the former president has a long history of using derogatory nicknames to refer to his political opponents, including former allies who have since turned against him.
Last month, Trump referred to his former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany as "milktoast"—an apparent misspelling of "milquetoast," a jab for a timid or bland person—after she suggested that the Florida governor could be "closing the gap" in Iowa's GOP primary race.
Trump also repeated an attack line that he has used against a significant number of his Republican critics during his attack on McEnany, calling her a "RINO," or "Republican in name only."
Correction 06/21/23, 8:53 a.m. ET: A previous version of this article incorrectly spelled Bret Baier's name.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more
