“Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade was visibly “uncomfortable” with former President Trump’s alleged new nickname ideas for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), who is his strongest potential opponent for the GOP 2024 presidential nomination.

(Video Credit: Fox News)

Kilmeade made the comment on Monday morning while the panel recounted campaign events that occurred over the weekend. Those included Trump’s powerful CPAC speech and DeSantis’ event in California.

Co-host Steve Doocy brought up New Hampshire Governor John Sununu. He has predicted that DeSantis will win the primary in his state. Sununu is also a potential contender for the presidency but he is considered more of a moderate.

“I will tell you what, he is extremely personable. He is a strong candidate,” Kilmeade remarked concerning Sununu and then dove into Trump’s reported efforts to smear DeSantis with a variety of nicknames.

“Donald Trump is trying to vilify Jeb Bush and Paul Ryan; he says they are a portion of the party that he is trying to link Ron DeSantis to,” Kilmeade claimed. “He is also working on a nickname: ‘Ron Dishonest,’ ‘Ron the Establishment’ or ‘Tiny D.’”

“I don’t know,” he stated. “If people are uncomfortable … It’s hard to label somebody who is so similar to him with a nickname. It’s almost as — it makes everybody on all sides seemingly uncomfortable. Even people reporting it.”

Bloomberg is reporting that Trump’s team is attempting to dig up dirt on DeSantis and his family, including research into his wife, Casey DeSantis, who is a former TV journalist. They are also allegedly looking into DeSantis’ time as a teacher at a Georgia boarding school.

Trump floated his first nickname for DeSantis, “Ron DeSanctimonious,” at a rally in Pennsylvania in November. He has also tested other nicknames on Truth Social. He has  labeled the popular conservative as a “RINO globalist.”

The New York Times claimed that the former president was considering the nickname “Meatball Ron.” Trump has refuted that claim.

“I will never call Ron DeSanctimonious ‘Meatball’ Ron, as the Fake News is insisting I will. Even though FoxNews killing lightweight Paul Ryan is revered by him, Low Energy Jeb Bush is his hero and always at his side, his beaches and State were closed for long periods of time, his testing, testing, testing for the China Virus didn’t work out too well, and his loyalty skills are really weak, it would be totally inappropriate to use the word ‘meatball’ as a moniker for Ron!” Trump said on Truth Social on February 18.

The former president has stepped up his attacks against the Florida governor as rumors are spreading that he might run for the presidency in 2024. Trump branded DeSantis “average” and “very disloyal,” and claimed that DeSantis cried in front of him while asking for an endorsement in 2018, according to Business Insider. He’s also taken credit for getting DeSantis elected governor.

DeSantis has refrained from attacking Trump no matter what was thrown at him. At his speech in California, however, he did appear to take a swipe at the former president.

“You didn’t see our administration leaking like a sieve. You didn’t see a lot of drama or palace intrigue. What you saw was surgical precision execution day after day after day,” DeSantis stated.

The 2024 Presidential race is heating up following a weekend of high-profile appearances. @HallieJackson reports on the latest details. pic.twitter.com/dVAbspGE9Z

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 6, 2023

 

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