‘The Way to Pronounce My Last Name? Winner’: DeSantis Refuses to Explain How to Say His Surname

Fox News Digital

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is facing a question he probably never thought he would be asked on the campaign trail: How is your last name pronounced?

DeSantis has alternated pronunciations of his last name, sometimes pronouncing it “deh-santis” and other times “dee-santis.”

This substantively meaningless distinction has come to the forefront of the campaign within the last 24 hours, as former President Donald Trump has harped on this “issue” on multiple occasions.

“Have you heard that ‘Rob’ DeSanctimonious wants to change his name, again,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday. “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?”

On Thursday, Fox News reporter Paul Steinhauser caught up with the governor and asked him to clarify.

“There’s been some confusion over your last name and the pronunciation,” he said. “And I’m just wondering – to correct the record – what is it?”

DeSantis declined to answer the question.

“No, this is ridiculous,” he replied. “These stupid things. Listen, the way to pronounce my last name? ‘Winner.'”

DeSantis has drawn the ire of Trump merely by running against him. The former president has called DeSantis disloyal after Trump endorsed him for governor in 2018. The governor has largely avoided attacking Trump, except in cases where the former president goes after him.

In a Fox News town hall on Thursday night, Trump did not mention DeSantis by name and instead referred to him as “the one who’s second.”

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