Trump: I won't call DeSantis "Meatball Ron" - POLITICO
Donald Trump on Saturday said he wouldn’t use the nickname “Meatball Ron” to describe Ron DeSantis, a likely rival for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
In a Truth Social post, the former president said it would be “inappropriate” to use the word “‘meatball’ as a moniker, which has been described as referring to DeSantis’ appearance and carries connotations to his Italian lineage.
one of my favorite characteristics of a trump missive is how they invariably accuse whatever he is up against as being unliked/unpopular with some kind of hyperbolic description. "poll numbers dropping like a rock" "ratings in the gutter" whereas of course all his own initiatives or products are loved/popular etc.
it's a great bit of marketing savvy that seems stupid as hell, but is wildly effective on people. nobody wants to miss out on the thing everybody loves and we all recoil at the thing everybody hates. usually, good marketing/advertising sort of infers one or the other, or maybe even provides some evidence of it.
not trump. he just throws it out there explicitly. "everybody hates my enemy! big loser!"