US 2024 presidential elections: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis officially declared his intention to seek the 2024 Republican nomination for president. However, he was hoping for a flashy entrance into the 2024 race for the White House but his Wednesday Twitter announcement was a complete failure and did little to allay concerns that the 44-year-old Republican may not be prepared to challenge former President Donald Trump.
DeSantis announced his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential primary through an audio stream on Twitter Spaces, joined by the platform’s CEO Elon Musk. However, his entry into the race encountered technical difficulties when Twitter's servers apparently could not handle the surge in traffic. The interview, which was intended to serve as the formal launch of DeSantis' campaign, suffered from intermittent sound issues. For the majority of users, it was practically impossible to hear the new presidential candidate in real time because the audio stream crashed repeatedly. Some users were unable to join or get dropped from the broadcast.
Technical issues '#failuretolaunch'
The technical glitches and interruptions that plagued the event sparked trending topics in the US, including "#failuretolaunch," "crashed," and the hashtag ‘#DeSaster”. The initial moments of the conversation on Twitter Spaces, featuring DeSantis, Elon Musk, and moderator David Sacks, were plagued by several audio and video glitches. Microphone feedback and intermittent interruptions disrupted the stream, leaving Twitter users frustrated.
DeSantis’s speech
During his campaign announcement, the Florida Governor in his opening address to listeners, painted a dark picture of a country he said is going in the wrong direction under Biden and urged Republicans to get behind him.
“American decline is not inevitable — it is a choice. And we should choose a new direction — a path that will lead to American revitalization,” DeSantis said on the glitchy stream, racing through his conservative accomplishments. “I am running for president of the United States to lead our great American comeback,” he said during an event with Twitter owner Elon Musk and tech investor David Sacks. “But we know our country’s going in the wrong direction. We see it with our own eyes. And we feel it in our bones."
“My pledge to you is this: If you nominate me you can set your clock to January 20, 2025, at high noon because on the west side of the US Capitol, I will be taking the oath of office as the 47th president of the United States,” DeSantis said. “No excuses, I will get the job done," CNN quoted DeSantis as saying.
The Florida governor, who got a decisive boost from Trump during the 2018 primary, did not directly criticize Trump, except for an implied jab that has become a staple of his pre-campaign rhetoric. “There is no substitute for victory,” said the governor, who filed with the Federal Election Commission earlier Wednesday. “We must end the culture of losing that has infected the Republican Party in recent years.”
“Even my worst critics in Florida will acknowledge when I tell people I’m going to do something,” DeSantis said. “I don’t make promises or say I’m going to do something lightly.”
The ultimate Republican nominee is expected to face Democratic President Joe Biden on the general election ballot in November 2024. DeSantis joins a field that also includes former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Former Vice President Mike Pence is also considered a likely presidential candidate but has not yet announced a bid.
DeSantis’ Republican opponents were merciless
The online event started off with technical glitches that Musk said were due to “straining” servers because so many people were trying to listen to the audio-only event. More than 20 minutes passed beyond the scheduled start time with users getting kicked off, hearing microphone feedback and hold music and dealing with other technical problems.
“Failed soft launch? Check. Failed announcement? Double check. We look forward to Ron DeSantis’ failed campaign,” said Mark Harris, the lead strategist for Haley’s super PAC.
Trump went further: “Wow! The DeSanctus TWITTER launch is a DISASTER! His whole campaign will be a disaster. WATCH!” he wrote on his social media site.
DeSantis’ campaign raised $1 million online
Still, DeSantis’ campaign said it raised $1 million online in the first hour after the announcement. “We had a huge audience,” DeSantis said in a subsequent interview on Fox News when asked about the technical difficulties. “It was the biggest they ever had. It did break the Twitter space. We’re really excited about the enthusiasm.”
DeSantis, who likely would not have become the Florida governor without Trump’s endorsement, has adopted the former president’s fiery personality, his populist policies and even some of his rhetoric and mannerisms. Yet DeSantis has one thing his rival does not: a credible claim that he may be more electable than Trump, who faces multiple legal threats, including criminal charges in New York, and who presided over Republican losses in three consecutive national elections.
DeSantis, just six months ago, won his reelection in Florida by a stunning 19 percentage points — even as Republicans in many other states struggled. He also scored several major policy victories during the Republican-controlled Legislature’s spring session.
(With AP inputs)
