Is it a good idea for Trump to call Ron DeSantis “Meatball Ron”? A report earlier this week indicated that Donald Trump is considering referring to his likely opponent Ron DeSantis as “Meatball Ron.” But Trump has denied it, and there’s been some backlash.
Donald Trump and The Insult Game
In a New York Times piece over the weekend about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ reluctance, at least so far, to respond forcefully to former President Donald Trump’s attacks on him, there was a report that the ex-president has been testing some new nicknames for his probable future opponent: “Meatball Ron,” and “Shutdown Ron.”
Trump had been referring to the governor as “Ron DeSanctimonious,” and the early indication was that most observers, even those who dislike Trump, thought “Meatball Ron” was a much better and more devastating nickname, one that goes in the Trump tradition of “Crooked Hillary,” “Lying’ Ted,” “Low-Energy Jeb, and other nicknames use to mock his political opponents.
“Meatball Ron is so solid a team of elite comedy writers could have 1000 years and not top it. Trump’s divine gift is humiliating republicans with nicknames it’s a shame it’s wasted on A Greater Evil,” left-wing journalist and podcaster Adam Johnson tweeted this week. “No amount of foaming book bans can save DeSantis now, he’s finished.”
Donald Trump Won’t Win By Insults
But now, there is word of some backlash to the name- starting with Donald Trump himself, who issued a limited denial of the report.
“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!!!,” Donald Trump said on Truth Social Monday, in between shots at the ratings of MSNBC’s talk show “Morning Joe.”
To be clear, Donald Trump did not directly deny that he has considered using “Meatball Ron” as a DeSantis nickname, only that he has spent “large amounts of my time coming up with a good ‘nickname’” for his likely opponent. The Times piece said nothing about “large amounts of time,” only that Donald Trump has “insulted Mr. DeSantis in casual conversations.”
There has also been some pushback on the right to the “Meatball Ron” nickname.
“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,” conservative radio and TV host Mark Levin said on Twitter Tuesday.
Ethic Slur?
Others, including former Donald Trump sycophant Bill Mitchell, have pointed out that “Meatball Ron” could be viewed as an anti-Italian American ethnic slur.
“As an Italian American whose mother was born in Italy, the latest from Trump tells me he cannot run a campaign. He’s vindictive and has no concept of fair play. Now he calls Ron DeSantis ‘Meatball Ron.’ That’s an affront to every Italian American. Of course, Ron will not respond,” one pro-DeSantis Twitter account said.
The Daily Beast also analyzed the “Meatball Ron” insult.
“The good news for DeSantis is that this specific technique is not currently being used on him (stay tuned for “Groomin’ Ron”),” Matt Lewis wrote of Trump’s nickname tendency. “But what does “meatball” even mean? The New York Times calls it ‘an apparent dig at [DeSantis’s] appearance,’ which I take to suggest a shorter, pudgier frame—while hinting at a lock of social grace. But ‘meatball’ is also a slur against Italian-Americans (all eight of DeSantis’ great-grandparents came here from Italy).” Lewis went on to speculate that if the late comedian Don Rickles had been born 30 years later, “ he might have been president.”
Lewis also asked Italian Americans what they think.
“To test the waters, I reached out to the non-partisan National Italian American Foundation for a comment. I received a generic quote back from the group’s president, telling me that they ‘do not countenance any ethnic stereotyping used to denigrate an individual or a group.’ Not exactly a stinging rebuke of Trump’s slur. This is to say that in 2023, nobody is going to be morally outraged about Donald Trump calling an Italian-American politician a meatball.”
Expertise and Experience:
Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
