Donald Trump dubbed Florida’s governor “Ron DeSanctimonious” on Sunday night, marking the end of a weekend that saw the former president go head-to-head against his potential Republican rival of 2024.
In two posts on his Truth social app, Trump rolled out the nickname twice when he accused DeSantis of being a “globalist” and of “closing Florida and its beaches” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
His return to the moniker is a sign that the ex-president is poised for an all-out political war against his rising rival. DeSantis hasn’t officially announced a White House bid, but his refusal to rule out one in this upcoming election cycle has infuriated Trump.
Trump first came out with his “Ron DeSanctimonious” line during a rally in Pennsylvania just three days before the midterm elections – and was promptly criticized by leading Republicans for attacking the governor on the eve of his reelection bid.
He initially backed down and even encouraged people to vote for DeSantis the next day before steadily ramping up his attacks again.
Former President Donald Trump is stepping up attacks on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and appears increasingly nervous that the popular Republican leader will launch his own 2024 candidacy
In the first of two posts Sunday night, Trump rarely praised the media for covering his first two campaign events, which took place in New Hampshire and then South Carolina on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters on his campaign plane that day, Trump publicly warned DeSantis that it would be “disloyal” for him to run in 2024.
He wrote hours later on Truth Social, “The revelations that Ron DeSanctimonious was doing MUCH WORSE than many other Republican governors, including the fact that he closed Florida and its beaches without apologies, was interesting indeed.
Trump added, referring to himself in the third person: “DJT leads BIG!!!”
In the second post, just after midnight Monday, Trump went on a bizarre tangent against conservative group Club For Growth — and somehow DeSantis got caught up in the mix.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ refusal to rule out a White House bid has infuriated the former president, who became the first Republican to toss his 2024 hat in the ring
The influential organization has been at odds with Trump since the 2022 midseason, when it clashed with him in two high-profile Republican Senate primaries in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
It also undercut its Nov. 15 presidential announcement by releasing an early 2024 poll the day before showing Trump losing to DeSantis.
“The Club For No Growth is a GLOBALIST group that I’ve been taking to cleanse for years. We worked together for a while but they couldn’t leave China, Europe, Asia and parts unknown,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in the early hours of Monday morning.
“You know I’m not going to play that game, I’m America First all the time. That’s the only way we’ll make America great again.
“Ron DeSanctimonious, who I made governor in BOTH elementary school and general, is also a globalist, and so are his donors.”
He also sought to link DeSantis to Jeb Bush, the former Republican governor of Florida whom Trump comfortably defeated for the GOP nomination in 2024 — despite the former’s place in one of America’s foremost political dynasties.
Trump officially kicked off his third presidential campaign on Saturday with stops in the early primary states of New Hampshire and South Carolina.
“If I hear that [DeSantis] could [run] I think it’s very disloyal,” he told CNN and Politico on his plane.
In his first of two Truth Social posts where he shared his “Ron DeSanctimonious” line, Trump accused the Florida governor of shutting down his state during the pandemic
In the second post, Trump also targeted the conservative group Club For Growth
He also once again paid tribute to DeSantis’ narrow win in 2018 — which later led to a landslide re-election in 2022.
“Without me, Ron would not have become governor,” Trump said.
DeSantis has so far been reluctant to face Trump publicly, a strategy that has seemed to be paying off for him so far.
He has seen his GOP star rise throughout the Biden administration with his vocal opposition to Joe Biden’s progressive policies.
He’s also made a name for himself with Trump’s MAGA base, throwing himself into the culture wars with LGBTQ-specific laws and adopting critical race theory in schools.
But through it all, DeSantis has repeatedly insisted his focus is on Florida when asked about his 2024 ambitions. It has done little to quell enthusiasm, particularly among fellow Republicans.
“Obviously, DeSantis and Trump are the two candidates, right whether he’s declared or not,” New Hampshire GOP Gov. Chris Sununu said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.