HO CHI MINH CITY: Ron DeSantis will announce its bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination during a live stream Twitter chat with the billionaire owner of the platform Elon Musk on Wednesday, hailing his ultra-conservative record as governor of Florida as a blueprint for the nation.
DeSantis will work on borrowing some of the tech mogul’s star power to sidestep clear leads Donald Trumpwho passed all before him in the early stages of the contest and is voting in greater numbers than all the other candidates combined.
“I’m interviewing Ron DeSantis and he has quite a bit of announcement to make,” Musk confirmed on Tuesday, promising the 6pm (22:00 GMT) event would not be announced in advance, with ” real-time questions and answers”.
“It’s going to be live. Let it rip,” Musk said during the Wall Street Journal Board of Directors conference.
The announcement will be accompanied by a campaign kick-off video and the start of a three-day retreat in Miami for some of DeSantis’ wealthiest donors, who will be briefed on the campaign before the governor. through several states early voting next week.
Long seen as the most likely challenger to the two-time impeached former president Trump, DeSantis is better known than most of the prospects in the Republican party pursuing the nomination — but still missing the country profile of the leader.
The format gives him a dual advantage – giving him precious access to Musk’s 140 million followers, many of whom are Trump supporters, and if he wins the nomination, then he will attract the attention of a younger, less conservative constituency. needed a shot at the White House.
DeSantis used his background as Florida’s chief executive to polish his conservative credentials, signing about 80 new state laws this spring, many targeting “the spread awakening” in schools and other public institutions.
These include a ban on discussing gender identity and sexual orientation in schools, blocking funding of diversity-promoting efforts at public universities, and one of the most restrictive abortion laws. in the country.
But the 44-year-old’s official debut came with his ratings dwindling despite numerous right-wing legislative victories in his state.
Several policy missteps have raised doubts about his willingness to confront Trump, with donors worried that he may have peaked too soon.
He faces the daunting task of closing a massive polling gap, with Trump posting a lead of nearly 40 percentage points, despite being indicted on arbitration charges and accused of sexual abuse. in a civil trial in New York.
But DeSantis entered the campaign with a huge cash advantage over his opponents in the Trump-chasing team — a war chest that could potentially run into more than $100 million — and rose to prominence. Voter turnout was strong at a series of recent campaign events.
Never Back Down, a super PAC that served as the governor’s de facto campaign arm before he announced it, has ground operations in most of the early nominating states and is planning to expand .
Behind the scenes, Trump and DeSantis factions have jostled to win political endorsement from state lawmakers while at the national level, Florida’s congressional delegation has been overwhelmingly supportive of Trump.
Musk is a well-known admirer of DeSantis, although he made it clear that Twitter will remain neutral on the nomination and that his hosting of the campaign launch should not be taken as an endorsement.
“I’ve said publicly that my hobby, and I think the hobby of most Americans, is… having a pretty normal person in the office,” he said, without giving any indication. Any clear quote for Trump.
The former president was banned from using Twitter following the attack on the US Capitol in 2021 by his supporters and has not returned since being reinstated in November.
He attacked DeSantis almost daily about his achievements, personality and fitness for the office but responded to Wednesday’s announcement with relative restraint – simply posting the poll favorably. on his own online platform, Truth Social.
“The announcement on Twitter was perfect for Ron DeSantis. This way he doesn’t have to interact with people and the media can’t ask him any questions,” a Trump aide said. .
The governor has also been criticized for his lack of personal touch, which Trump supporters say was one of the former president’s greatest assets.
But the former navy officer and congressman recently doubled down on his efforts to stay put after delivering meat-eating pledges, signing autographs and taking pictures with supporters.
“If we turn 2024 into a referendum on Joe Biden and his failures and we provide a positive alternative to the future of this country, Republicans will win broadly,” DeSantis said during a visit this month to the Center Sioux, Iowa.
DeSantis will work on borrowing some of the tech mogul’s star power to sidestep clear leads Donald Trumpwho passed all before him in the early stages of the contest and is voting in greater numbers than all the other candidates combined.
“I’m interviewing Ron DeSantis and he has quite a bit of announcement to make,” Musk confirmed on Tuesday, promising the 6pm (22:00 GMT) event would not be announced in advance, with ” real-time questions and answers”.
“It’s going to be live. Let it rip,” Musk said during the Wall Street Journal Board of Directors conference.
The announcement will be accompanied by a campaign kick-off video and the start of a three-day retreat in Miami for some of DeSantis’ wealthiest donors, who will be briefed on the campaign before the governor. through several states early voting next week.
Long seen as the most likely challenger to the two-time impeached former president Trump, DeSantis is better known than most of the prospects in the Republican party pursuing the nomination — but still missing the country profile of the leader.
The format gives him a dual advantage – giving him precious access to Musk’s 140 million followers, many of whom are Trump supporters, and if he wins the nomination, then he will attract the attention of a younger, less conservative constituency. needed a shot at the White House.
DeSantis used his background as Florida’s chief executive to polish his conservative credentials, signing about 80 new state laws this spring, many targeting “the spread awakening” in schools and other public institutions.
These include a ban on discussing gender identity and sexual orientation in schools, blocking funding of diversity-promoting efforts at public universities, and one of the most restrictive abortion laws. in the country.
But the 44-year-old’s official debut came with his ratings dwindling despite numerous right-wing legislative victories in his state.
Several policy missteps have raised doubts about his willingness to confront Trump, with donors worried that he may have peaked too soon.
He faces the daunting task of closing a massive polling gap, with Trump posting a lead of nearly 40 percentage points, despite being indicted on arbitration charges and accused of sexual abuse. in a civil trial in New York.
But DeSantis entered the campaign with a huge cash advantage over his opponents in the Trump-chasing team — a war chest that could potentially run into more than $100 million — and rose to prominence. Voter turnout was strong at a series of recent campaign events.
Never Back Down, a super PAC that served as the governor’s de facto campaign arm before he announced it, has ground operations in most of the early nominating states and is planning to expand .
Behind the scenes, Trump and DeSantis factions have jostled to win political endorsement from state lawmakers while at the national level, Florida’s congressional delegation has been overwhelmingly supportive of Trump.
Musk is a well-known admirer of DeSantis, although he made it clear that Twitter will remain neutral on the nomination and that his hosting of the campaign launch should not be taken as an endorsement.
“I’ve said publicly that my hobby, and I think the hobby of most Americans, is… having a pretty normal person in the office,” he said, without giving any indication. Any clear quote for Trump.
The former president was banned from using Twitter following the attack on the US Capitol in 2021 by his supporters and has not returned since being reinstated in November.
He attacked DeSantis almost daily about his achievements, personality and fitness for the office but responded to Wednesday’s announcement with relative restraint – simply posting the poll favorably. on his own online platform, Truth Social.
“The announcement on Twitter was perfect for Ron DeSantis. This way he doesn’t have to interact with people and the media can’t ask him any questions,” a Trump aide said. .
The governor has also been criticized for his lack of personal touch, which Trump supporters say was one of the former president’s greatest assets.
But the former navy officer and congressman recently doubled down on his efforts to stay put after delivering meat-eating pledges, signing autographs and taking pictures with supporters.
“If we turn 2024 into a referendum on Joe Biden and his failures and we provide a positive alternative to the future of this country, Republicans will win broadly,” DeSantis said during a visit this month to the Center Sioux, Iowa.
