Late night hosts mocked former President Donald Trump’s alleged new nickname for Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — “Meatball Ron.”
Trump reportedly labeled the governor “Meatball Ron” in private conversations in an effort to put him down ahead of the 2024 presidential primary, according to The New York Times. Host Stephen Colbert praised Trump for this alleged new nickname, calling it “dumb and accurate.”
“I do not like how much I like that,” Colbert said in reference to the nickname. “It’s so dumb and accurate. You know what else is really great and bad about it? How easy it is to sing to the tune of Uptown Girl.”
The late night host then sang to the tune of Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl”: “Meatball Ron, he’s a walking, talking beef baton. And he tells you that you can’t say ‘gay,’ and that COVID will just go away. That’s not ok. Meatball Ron.”
The former president apparently now refers to Ron DeSantis as “Meatball Ron.” Unfortunately, it’s a really great nickname. #Colbert pic.twitter.com/HrvYQhnwLB
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) February 15, 2023
Host Jimmy Kimmel pondered the reason Trump allegedly calls DeSantis a meatball, and wondered which nickname the former president will come up with for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who became Trump’s first 2024 challenger on Tuesday. (RELATED: DeSantis Responds To Trump Attacks)
“We learned from The New York Times this weekend that Trump’s nickname for Ron DeSantis is ‘Meatball Ron,’” Kimmel said. “Why? I have no idea …Trump is gonna eat that meatball as a snack.
Mark Levin, the host of Fox News’ “Life, Liberty & Levin,” said Tuesday that the nickname and constant smears against DeSantis will be detrimental to Trump in the race if it is true.
“I happen to like Meatballs. But this will turn off a lot of conservative voters,” Levin said. “Not a wise move if true. I hope it’s not.”
I happen to like Meatballs. But this will turn off a lot of conservative voters. Not a wise move if true. I hope it’s not.https://t.co/ghLP1Q1M7A
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) February 14, 2023
The former president denied the Times’ report that he spends time coming up with nicknames for the Florida governor in a Tuesday Truth Social post.
“All of the Fake News is reporting that I spend large amounts of my time coming up with a good ‘nickname’ for Ron DeSanctimonious, who is obviously going to give the presidential ‘thing’ a shot. They are all 100% wrong, I don’t even think about it—A very unimportant subject to me!!”
Trump mockingly nicknamed DeSantis “Ron DeSanctimonious” at a November rally in Pennsylvania, where he boasted that he led DeSantis in polling among Republican voters. He has credited himself for DeSantis widespread popularity among conservatives across the nation and attacked him over his COVID-19 response.
Several polls have found DeSantis to top Trump in a potential 2024 primary. A poll conducted by WPAi for Club for Growth found the governor leading Trump by nine points. The poll surveyed 3,015 likely 2024 Republican primary voters between Jan. 17-27 with a 1.8 margin of error.