Trump denies brainstorming ‘unimportant’ DeSantis nicknames after report

​Former President Donald Trump spent part of his Monday disputing a report that he’s conjuring up nicknames for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who’s widely viewed as his strongest potential ​rival in the 2024 Republican primary.

“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,” the 76-year-old Trump said Monday on his Truth Social platform.

“They are all 100% wrong, I don’t even think about it — A very unimportant subject to me!!!” he added.

The former president, who’s known to have an affinity for biting monikers and doled them out generously to his Republican primary challengers in 2016, has been gearing up to face the 44-year-old DeSantis in a potential battle royale for the GOP nomination. 

Trump rolled out his “Ron DeSanctimonious” line last fall as the governor was wrapping up a successful reelection bid in the Sunshine State, defeating Democratic opponent Charlie Crist by nearly 20 points and further raising his profile among national Republicans. 

Along with taking shots at DeSantis on Truth Social, Trump trash talks him in private, describing him as “Meatball Ron” or “Shutdown Ron,” a reference to coronavirus restrictions he purportedly put in place early on in the pandemic, the New York Times reported on Sunday. 

But DeSantis, who hasn’t shied away from other high-profile squabbles, including with Disney, appears for now content on limiting engagement with Trump. 

The 45th president has attacked DeSantis recently as a “RINO GLOBALIST” and has repeatedly claimed the Republican governor’s political career was over before his endorsement revived it.​

“I spend my time delivering results for the people of Florida and fighting against Joe Biden — That’s how I spend my time,” DeSantis answered. “I don’t spend my time trying to smear other Republicans.”