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President Donald J. Trump seemed to roll out a new nickname for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis while speaking in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, on Saturday: “Ron DeSanctimonious.”
Subtly slipping the comment into his rally remarks, Trump noted that he has been polling at the top of the list of contenders for the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.
“We’re winning big, big, big in the Republican Party for the nomination like nobody’s ever seen before,” he said as recent poll numbers were displayed on the big screen.
“Let’s see – there it is,” he continued, reading the results off. “Trump at 71, Ron DeSanctimonious at 10 percent, Mike Pence at 7 – oh, Mike’s doing better than I thought!”
The remark was the first Trump has made to suggest that there might be tension between him and DeSantis, who is currently running for reelection in Trump’s home state.
Although neither Republican has made a formal announcement about a 2024 presidential run, Trump has hinted heavily that he intends to do so soon, and speculation has been mounting as to whether DeSantis will follow suit further down the road.
Notably, Trump will hold a rally in Miami on Sunday in support of Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, while DeSantis – who frequented Trump’s rallies when the president was in office – will be speaking at conflicting events in Sarasota and then Fort Myers, according to Florida Politics.
However, with both Republicans’ attention currently turned to Tuesday’s midterm election, it seems that voters will have to wait at least a little bit longer before 2024 takes center stage.