Trump has been testing new nicknames for Ron DeSantis like 'Tiny D' and 'Ron DisHonest:' Bloomberg
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- Donald Trump is privately workshopping some fresh nicknames for Ron DeSantis, Bloomberg reports.
- Those include "Tiny D," "Ron DisHonest," and "RonDeEstablishment."
- Trump denied a report from The New York Times that he wanted to call DeSantis "Meatball Ron."
Former President Donald Trump is trialing some more nicknames for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Bloomberg reports.
Among the insults Trump is considering for DeSantis are "Tiny D," "Ron DisHonest," and "Ron DeEstablishment," Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed Trump allies.
Trump's team has also been trying to dig up dirt on DeSantis and his family, per Bloomberg. This includes research into his wife, Casey DeSantis, a former TV journalist, and probes into DeSantis' time as a teacher at a Georgia boarding school.
Trump debuted his first nickname for DeSantis, "Ron DeSanctimonious," at a rally in Pennsylvania in November. He has tested out other nicknames in Truth Social posts, including "Ron DeSanctus," though it's unclear what this nickname means.
Trump has also branded DeSantis a "RINO globalist," an insult that has roots in a far-right conspiracy theory about a cabal of global elites.
However, Trump refuted a February 12 report from The New York Times that said he was considering the nickname "Meatball Ron" for DeSantis.
"I will never call Ron DeSanctimonious 'Meatball' Ron, as the Fake News is insisting I will," Trump wrote on Truth Social on February 18. Trump added that he thought "it would be totally inappropriate to use the word 'meatball' as a moniker for Ron!"
DeSantis has not yet confirmed that he is running for president in 2024. He was once a staunch Trump supporter, but a rift has formed in their relationship.
Trump has continually attacked DeSantis on the assumption that he will run against him for the presidency. In the last four months, Trump has branded DeSantis "average" and "very disloyal," claimed that DeSantis cried in front of him while asking for an endorsement in 2018, and taken credit for getting DeSantis elected governor.
DeSantis has refrained from insulting Trump. In November, he told people to "chill out" about a possible GOP civil war between them.
Representatives for Trump and DeSantis did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.