Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis briefly lost it on Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade after simply being reminded about the array of insults Donald Trump hurled at him during their respective campaigns. The One Nation host had asked his high-profile guest how he and the president are getting along these days. His answer quickly went viral.

‘You guys went at it pretty hard in the primaries, just like he did with Ted Cruz, just like he did with Marco Rubio,’ Kilmeade told DeSantis. ‘And then obviously things are going great-‘ A visibly annoyed DeSantis – appearing remotely – immediately interrupted, just seconds into the interview. ‘I don’t think that’s true, I think that’s just you guys… I think we get along great,’ the Republican argued. ‘We are working very constructively,’ he continued. ‘No state has done more to support their agenda on illegal immigration than we have.’

The rest of his spiel appeared to completely ignore the crux of Kilmeade’s question, sounding more like the contents of a brochure for the Sunshine State than a measured response. Kilmeade, however, stayed quiet. ‘No state is working more constructively on environmental restoration,’ DeSantis said. 

‘I just did a huge announcement this week on working with the Everglades,’ he continued. ‘And we’ve also returned almost a billion dollars to them as part of their DOGE effort. So, I think it’s been really, really good, and the state of Florida – we’re the envy of the nation. People want to come here, people want their states to follow our lead, and we’ll continue to lead with purpose and conviction,’ he concluded.

The argument appeared to convince – or at least scare – Kilmeade, who quickly persisted with the rest of the interview. Not mentioned during the duration were the assortment of crass nicknames DeSantis was christened with by his then rival as the Republicans relentlessly duked it out.

‘Ron DeSanctimonious,’ ‘Ron Dishonest,’ and ‘Shutdown Ron’ are among some of the few, with Trump even taking the time to specify his preferred nomenclature for DeSatntis in a Truth Social post penned in February 2023, after re ports claimed he used a specific one to badmouth DeSantis privately. ‘I will never call Ron DeSanctimonious “Meatball” Ron, as the Fake News is insisting I will,’ he wrote at the time, amid calls of racism since DeSantis, 46, is Italian. ‘It would be totally inappropriate to use the word “meatball” as a moniker for Ron!’ Trump assured.

Despite never sharing a debate stage, the two continued to take shots at each other until the GOP primary, after which DeSantis forfeited his White House bid following a poor showing in the all-important Iowa caucus. At the time, there was also talk of the Florida Republican facing off with his California counterpart Gavin Newsom – an idea that, like DeSantis receiving the Republican nomination, never came to fruition.

Other victims to Trump’s name-calling – as Kilmeade, 61, indicated – are now allied with Trump our are part of his administration. Now in the midst of his second term as Florida’s governor, DeSantis is not eligible for reelection as an incumbent in November of next year. Candidates – aside from Independent Jason Pizzo – have yet to be chosen.