Jimmy Kimmel Calls Ron DeSantis 'Pathetic Little Worm' After Trump Meeting

Jimmy Kimmel has hit out at Ron DeSantis following reports that the Florida governor and Donald Trump had a meeting to discuss the 2024 general election.

The comedian dubbed DeSantis a "pathetic little worm" during Monday night's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, after The Washington Post claimed the politicians had "met privately" in Miami on Sunday.

DeSantis was once an ardent Trump supporter, but their friendship cooled off after the 45-year-old decided to run against Trump as a Republican candidate in the presidential primaries.

Trump publicly slammed his former pal, allegedly calling De Santis "Meatball Ron"—a dig at his Italian heritage, although Trump denied these claims on Truth Social— and suggesting that DeSantis has "no personality" or viable policies.

However, the 77-year-old's attitude appears to have softened since DeSantis dropped his bid for the Republican candidacy in January. DeSantis endorsed Trump following his exit from the race, with the real estate mogul calling his rival a "really terrific person."

The meeting has sparked speculation that Trump may choose De Santis as a running mate in November.

"The team said they knew the meeting went well when De Santis came out of the room with Trump's body bronzer all over his face," Kimmel joked, mocking rumors that the politician wears -up.

The 56-year-old also poked fun at reports that De Santis will raise money for Trump's campaign, telling the audience: "I would love to have been in that room [with] Trump going: 'No I called you meatball in a good way.'"

"Poor Ron De Santis, what a pathetic little worm," he continued. "They said he did because he wants to run for president again in 2028. That seems like a great idea, what he doesn't realize is, Trump is also going to be running for president again in 2028."

Newsweek has reached out to DeSantis for comment via email.

This isn't the first time that Kimmel has taken aim at De Santis. Kimmel described him as "the terrible governor of Florida" in 2021 after De Santis said he'd take executive action to ban Joe Biden's vaccine passport proposal.

The host suggested that resistance to vaccine passports was "very rich coming from the party that wants nine forms of identification before you can vote."

Kimmel is also an outspoken critic of Trump, recently mocking rumors that the former president "farts" in court during his ongoing New York "hush money" trial, ridiculing his children's TV appearances and blasting the transgender weightlifter anecdote that Trump often uses at rallies and campaign stops.