Ron DeSantis Responds to Donald Trump's Insulting Nickname for Him

A clip of Ron DeSantis discussing Donald Trump's insulting nicknames for him has gone viral.

The footage of the Florida governor is a preview for an upcoming episode of the talk show Piers Morgan Uncensored.

Former President Trump, who has launched his campaign for the Republican nomination in 2024, has repeatedly attacked his GOP rival on social media and during speeches. DeSantis has previously said he doesn't pay much attention to the name-calling. But Morgan wrote in Tuesday's New York Post that the governor had "finally taken the gloves off" and was preparing to retaliate.

The preview clip from the talk show, which has been watched close to 250,000 times on Twitter, aired on Fox News' Ingraham Angle on Tuesday night.

In it, the host asks: "What is your favorite nickname that Trump's given you so far? Is it Ron DeSanctimonious or Meatball Ron?"

Trump has previously denied calling the governor "Meatball Ron, writing on Truth Social in February that it would be "totally inappropriate."

DeSantis replies to Morgan: "I don't know how to spell 'DeSanctimonious.'

"I don't really know what it means but, you know, I kind of like it. It's long. It's got a lot of vowels. I mean, we'd go with that. That's fine.

"You know, you can call me whatever you want. I mean, just as long as you also call me a winner."

Although DeSantis has not announced his intentions for 2024, many predict that the race for the Republican nomination will come down to him versus Trump.

At the end of last month, while speaking to Fox News' Jesse Watters, the governor said he would not be drawn into a war of words with Trump.

DeSantis said: "You know, he used to say how great of a governor I was. And then I win a big victory and all of a sudden, he had different opinions, so you can take that for what it's worth.

"At the end of the day, one of the reasons I've been successful as governor is I don't really pay attention to a lot of the background noise.

"I mean, he is obviously a big fish, but I get attacked all the time from every different angle and you either put points on the board or you don't. And so I just focus on delivering the wins and I think we have done a pretty good job of following through on our promises."

Newsweek has contacted Donald Trump's office via email for comment.