Former President Donald Trump has a knack for nasty nicknames, as many of his rivals have learned the hard way. Now, the man who brought us “Lying Ted” and “Crooked Hillary” seems to be floating a new nickname for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). Trump had been trying out “Ron DeSanctimonius” for a while. Then there was “Shutdown Ron” — a reference to the restrictions DeSantis put in place at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now there’s “Meatball Ron,” a moniker that could be referencing DeSantis’ stocky stature, his intellect, or his ethnic heritage, depending on whom you ask. According to Straight Arrow News contributor Ruben Navarrette, it’s pretty clear what Trump is up to.
Of course, “meatball” is an obvious reference to DeSantis’ Italian heritage. A century ago in 1923, Italian immigrants were the Mexicans of the early 20th century. They were the number one target of nativist and fear-mongering politicians who worried that Italian immigrants wouldn’t assimilate.
So, of course, they did everything they could to make it harder for Italians to assimilate. Of course, that was a nonsensical worry. The Italians did assimilate just like the Irish and Germans before them. Still, Trump, who is himself a throwback to the nativism of the know-nothings and the corruption of Tammany Hall, wants to go back in time and paint DeSantis as something foreign and menacing and slippery.
Same old Donald. That clown never learns his lesson and, apparently, neither does the MAGA crowd and any other Republican out there who’s thinking about supporting Trump again. Don’t these people realize that evil doesn’t just go away, especially when you simply try to sweep it under the rug?
Bigotry and prejudice need to be called out and confronted. Otherwise, these things get recycled and come back later in a different shape or color. In fact, sometimes they’re in such a hurry to come back, they don’t even bother to change their appearance. They just reappear in their original form. All we have to do is recognize them.
