Former President Trump on Sunday said that his “DeSanctimonious” moniker for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is “officially retired” after the governor suspended his 2024 presidential bid earlier in the day.
DeSantis announced Sunday that he was dropping out of the GOP presidential primary and endorsing Trump, who frequently clashed on the campaign trail, just days before the New Hampshire primary Tuesday. This leaves former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley as the only major challenger to Trump in the race as she attempts to pull off an upset in the Granite State.
During a campaign stop in New Hampshire on Sunday, Trump was asked if he would still be using the “DeSanctimonious” nickname he penned for the Florida governor.
“You said, ‘Will I be using the name Ron DeSanctimonious.’ I said that name is officially retired,” Trump told a group of supporters in New Hampshire, according to a video shared by Trumpe aide Margo Martin on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Trump first labeled DeSantis as “Ron DeSanctimonious” ahead of the 2022 midterms, when it was rumored that DeSantis was looking into a GOP challenge to the former president. DeSantis had largely dismissed the nicknames and criticism during his campaign, saying that the name-calling was “petty” and “juvenile” last year.
DeSantis had signaled his support for Trump in his video announcement Sunday. Trump told Fox News Digital on Sunday that he was “very honored” to have his endorsement.
“I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will honor that pledge. He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear: a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents,” DeSantis said in the message.