Politics

Trump is workshopping the nickname “Tiny D” for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, little D, nickname
Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis Photo: Shutterstock/screenshot composite

Former President Donald Trump (R) is reportedly workshopping insulting nicknames for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in anticipation of facing him in a primary for the Republican presidential nomination. According to Bloomberg, Trump’s workshopped nicknames include “Ron DisHonest,” “Ron DeEstablishment” and “Tiny D” (a none-too-subtle suggestion that DeSantis has a small penis).

Such nicknames helped propel Trump to the presidency in 2016, and they’re just one part of Trump’s strategy for tarnishing DeSantis’s shine as many Republicans say it’s “time to move on” from Trump. Trump has recently grown angrier against DeSantis, calling him “disloyal” and dismissing as “fake” any poll showing that voters prefer him over Trump.

Recently, Trump has tried the nicknames “Ron DeSanctimonious” (to portray DeSantis as a self-righteous hypocrite), “Meatball Ron” (a quasi-racist nod to his Italian heritage), and “Shutdown Ron” (to criticize the governor’s early COVID-19 response) — but none of these nicknames seem to have stuck.

Trump’s election campaign is also trying to dig up dirt on DeSantis and his wife, as well as cherry-pick moments from DeSantis’ political career that would help label him as a RINO (a “Republican-in-Name-Only,” an insult for Republicans who allegedly don’t represent the political party’s values), Bloomberg reports.

Thus far, Trump is one of three Republican candidates who have officially declared their presidential candidacies; the others are former Montana secretary of state Corey Stapleton and former Trump administration official Nikki Haley, both of whom are considered longshots.

DeSantis is expected to announce his candidacy after his state’s Republican-led legislative session ends in May. Until then, he may use legislation passed in his state as an example of the policies he might pursue in a national campaign. DeSantis also recently released a political memoir and has been making speeches in other states — both signs of a coming presidential run.

In the past, Trump effectively used nicknames to insult his political foes, including Sleepy Joe (Biden), Lyin’ Ted (Cruz), Little Marco (Rubio), Crooked Hillary (Clinton), Pocahontas (Elizabeth Warren), Crazy Bernie (Sanders), and Low Energy Jeb (Bush). While Trump has never publicly insulted a political rival’s penis size before, in a March 2016 Republican primary debate, Trump defended his own penis size. Meanwhile, adult star Stormy Daniels referred to it as “smaller than average.”

But Trump may do well against DeSantis without any nicknames at all. Trump has the devotion of an estimated 30 percent of Republican primary voters who could help him win the nomination. Republicans also privately loathe DeSantis and far-right legislation in his home state may reduce his appeal among moderate Republican and independent voters in a general election.

This legislative term, Florida may pass laws allowing Floridians to carry concealed weapons without permits, as well as a ban on diversity and equity programs at public colleges and universities, rules making media outlets more susceptible to lawsuits, a ban on abortions past six weeks of pregnancy, and an expansion of the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law that would specifically target transgender students, The Hill reported.

Republican strategist Kevin Madden told the aforementioned publication, “Right now, [DeSantis’] focus on cultural issues doesn’t really play as cleanly in the areas of the country that really matter in a general election, which are the suburban areas around the United States.”

But an unnamed Republican consultant said, “If you’re running for president, I think you’re always going to have to ask how to make your message palatable to the most people possible. This whole idea that you should be able to teach third-graders about gender identity at school? I think there’s a lot of Americans out there who are going to look at the governor and believe that he’s doing the right thing.”

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