A slimmer, fitter DeSantis visits Iowa this week

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 presidential hopeful, is headed to Iowa this week with a noticeably trimmer figure.

The Republican governor, who is rumored to be considering a run for the White House in 2024, was seen at an event Sunday looking fit, with one Twitter user commenting, “Holy cow @GovRonDeSantis looks FIT and ready for combat.”

“Not sure how much weight he’s lost but his health/appearance is not going to be one of Trump’s punchlines in the debates,” the person wrote. 

Former President Trump, who announced his bid last year for a second presidency after losing his 2020 re-election campaign, has previously taken shots at DeSantis, his likely 2024 rival, based on his appearance. 

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According to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, Trump branded DeSantis “fat” and “whiny” in private remarks, based on reports on excerpts from Haberman’s new book, “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America.”

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Trump insider Roger Stone echoed a similar sentiment, in a tweet last year calling DeSantis a “Yale Harvard fat boy.”

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“Trump sometimes President Donald Trump hits it right on the nose. Ron DeSantis Yale Harvard fat boy can’t get out of his own way. Not smart,” the January 2022 tweet read. “Not honest and not going to be president.” 

“An unknown congressman with a bad haircut and an ill fitting suit until Donald Trump made him governor,” Stone stated.

DeSantis’ trip on March 10 will be his first visit to Iowa and his first this cycle to any of the early voting states in the GOP primary and caucus schedule. 

DeSantis will make stops in Des Moines and Davenport Friday, March 10, where he’ll be joined by Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who will host what are being described as interview-style conversations with DeSantis at both events. News of the Florida governor’s visit to Iowa was first reported by The Des Moines Register.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.