Ron DeSantis Teams Up With Man Who Kept Calling Him “Pudding Fingers”

Ron DeSantis is apparently considering helping the man who once called him “Ron DeSancitmonius,” “Meatball Ron,” and “Pudding Fingers.”

DeSantis privately met with Donald Trump in Miami Sunday morning, according to The Washington Post. Trump’s hope is that DeSantis will help him raise a lot of money for his presidential campaign, as the former president grows increasingly desperate for cash.

Trump and DeSantis clashed very early on in the 2024 presidential race, with DeSantis becoming an early favorite of Republican donors eager to shed Trump and his baggage, in spite (or possibly because) of the Florida governor’s disturbing authoritarian streak. A story that DeSantis once ate pudding with his fingers became fodder for an entire campaign ad from a Trump-aligned political action committee. Trump had quite a few nicknames for the Florida governor, calling him Meatball Ron, Rob, Ron DeSanctimonious, and Ron DeSanctus— and even went as far as to call him a “groomer.”

In the end, DeSantis failed to gain ground on Trump in the polls, quickly alienating voters with his weird people skills and mannerisms. Nikki Haley ended up overtaking him among Republican voters desperate for an alternative to Trump, and DeSantis dropped out of the race in January.

Now, DeSantis is probably looking at the future and seeing that he doesn’t have one without at least tolerance from Trump. The two reportedly haven’t spoken since the primaries, even though DeSantis endorsed Trump the day he dropped out. The fact that DeSantis scoffed at a proposal for Florida to pay Trump’s legal bills probably didn’t help, and who can blame him? The former president’s bills keep piling up, and he reportedly can’t even pay his legal counsel.