Trump touts Twitter poll from '@catturd2' showing him with a big lead over Ron DeSantis

• Trump touted a Twitter poll conducted by "@catturd2" showing him with a strong lead over DeSantis.
• A pro-Trump super PAC also reshared the poll on Monday, tweeting, "New poll results from @catturd2."

Former President Donald Trump touted an unverified Twitter poll at a rally held in Waco, Texas, over the weekend. The poll, conducted by the pro-Trump Twitter user "@catturd2," claims to show Trump with a strong lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ahead of the 2024 race.

"You'll see some numbers that are incredible," Trump told the crowd at the rally. "We just had one today — 69 [percent] for Trump, and I think 18 or 19 for 'DeSanctimonious.'"

MAGA Inc., the new super PAC associated with Trump, reposted the poll to Twitter on Monday. According to a photo attached to the tweet, @catturd2 conducted the poll on March 22.

"New poll results from @catturd2," the tweet said.

Shortly after MAGA Inc. reposted the poll, @catturd2 quoted the tweet and wrote, "HAHAHA."

Both accounts are verified because they're subscribed to Twitter Blue.

"It doesn't matter who does the poll--whether from Monmouth, Morning Consult, Harvard/Harris, or @Catturd2 -- President Donald Trump is dominating the field and dominating every poll," Alex Pfeiffer, a representative for MAGA Inc., told Insider in a statement.

@catturd2 has a long history of supporting Trump, spreading pro-Trump conspiracy theories, and amplifying his most ardent followers. That's according to Rolling Stone, which published a lengthy profile of the Twitter user, who lives in Florida, last month.

The former president has also taken notice of the user, who is among Trump's most prolific fans on the internet.

After @catturd2 tweeted last April that he had been hospitalized, Trump sent him a signed note with the tweet printed on it and wrote, "C — Get Better Soon."

Monday's tweet from MAGA Inc. came as Trump has ramped up his criticisms of DeSantis, who's widely expected to launch his own presidential campaign in the coming months.

In addition to lambasting DeSantis' record as Florida's governor, the former president frequently refers to his one-time ally as "Ron DeSanctimonious." Last week, Trump's team called DeSantis "Rob" in a press release, though a spokesperson later said that it was merely quoting a Daily Mail headline.

And according to Bloomberg, Trump is also workshopping other nicknames for DeSantis ahead of the GOP primary debates, including "Tiny D," "Ron DisHonest," and "Ron DeEstablishment."

DeSantis, meanwhile, has largely refrained from making personal attacks against Trump and brushed off his barbs.

"I don't really know what it means, but I kinda like it, it's long, it's got a lot of vowels," DeSantis recently told the New York Post of his "Ron DeSanctimonious" nickname.

"We'll go with that, that's fine," he added. "I mean, you can call me whatever you want, just as long as you also call me a winner because that's what we've been able to do in Florida, is put a lot of points on the board and really take this state to the next level."

And as Trump faces a possible indictment from the Manhattan district attorney's office over a $130,000 hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels, DeSantis has accused the DA, Alvin Bragg, of prosecutorial overreach. But he also threw in a thinly veiled insult aimed at the former president.

"I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair," DeSantis said last week. "I just I can't speak to that."