Trump Claims DeSantis Wants to ‘Change His Name’

Former President Donald Trump is asking the question a lot of people are: how do you pronounce his main rival’s last name?

In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday night, Trump took a shot at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), writing, “Have you heard that ‘Rob’ DeSanctimonious wants to change his name, again. He is demanding that people call him DeeeSantis, rather than DaSantis.”

“Actually, I like ‘Da’ better, a nicer flow, so I am happy he is changing it. He gets very upset when people, including reporters, don’t pronounce it correctly. Therefore, he shouldn’t mind, DeSanctimonious?” he added.

Why Trump has decided to call DeSantis “Rob,” instead of Ron is unclear. But after the governor’s campaign launch, there is a question about what the correct pronunciation of his name is.

As Axios notes, the Florida governor has pronounced his last name as “Dee-Santis” at some times and “Deh-Santis” at others.

Meanwhile, his wife and a super PAC supporting him pronounce his name “Deh-Santis.” And his campaign has not shared what the correct pronunciation is.

MSNBC’s Willie Geist said on “Morning Joe” Thursday, “It is odd, I have to say, that the DeSantis campaign won’t confirm one way or the other how to say his name. We’re happy to say it however it’s meant to be said. But we’ve heard so many different versions of it, and it goes back and forth from one event to the other.”

“Genuinely not quite sure how to say the governor’s name,” he added.

Is the pronunciation of someone’s name a massive scandal that would sink a presidential campaign? No, but it does seem a little odd his campaign cannot put out a basic piece of information about the candidate.