Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election Wednesday evening as expected, but a Twitter event to launch his long-awaited campaign turned into a technical fiasco.
The 44-year-old conservative Republican, who rose to national prominence for his outspoken fight against “wokism,” announced his candidacy in a polished video on social media. However, an attempt to further discuss its contents with Twitter CEO Elon Musk during a unique online event at “Twitter Spaces” was plagued by audio issues and crashes. Some Twitter users were unable to join the live stream or lost connection.
Also read this profile: Ron DeSantis: a socially awkward man, who can operate cunningly in a campaign
“Descent in America is not inevitable, it’s a choice,” DeSantis, former President Donald Trump’s main opponent in the 2024 Republican nomination, said in the video. “And we must choose a new direction – one that will lead to American revitalization. I am running for President of the United States to lead our great American comeback.”
Competent driver
The stumbling kickoff, which sparked hilarity from critics of DeSantis on both sides, painfully tarnishes DeSantis’s cherished image as a competent administrator, and may reinforce doubts among voters about whether he is ready for the national stage. Among other things, the hashtag ‘DeSaster’ and the term ‘failure to launch’ were trending on Twitter. The fiasco was also compared to the explosion of the rocket of Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX at launch last month.
President Joe Biden responded on Twitter with the comment “This link works,” with a link to fundraising for his re-election campaign.
Political observers are watching with interest whether DeSantis is now actively fighting Trump, who according to polls enjoys a large lead among Republican voters. The former president constantly attacks him fiercely, including the nickname ‘Ron DeSanctimonious’, but DeSantis has hardly responded to it so far.
Culture of losses
DeSantis does distance himself from Trump’s lie that the ex-president would have actually won the 2020 election. He also blames Trump for Republican losses in November’s congressional elections, when the results were disappointing for Republicans and candidates supported by Trump generally did not perform well. “We need to end the culture of losing that has infected the Republican party in recent years,” DeSantis said during the Twitter event, after it restarted after a long hiatus.
Other Republicans in the race include former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, and South Carolina senator Tim Scott. The primaries will be held from January 2024.