Donald Trump’s race to the White House just got a little more competitive, as Ron DeSantis, 44, officially entered the 2024 presidential race after months of speculation.
On Wednesday, May 24th, the Florida governor took to Twitter’s audio platform to announce that he is officially entering the Republican presidential primary. He is now in direct competition with the 76-year-old former president, the current GOP frontrunner, to take on current President Joe Biden, 80, who announced last month that he will be seeking re-election.
Ron DeSantis’ Presidential Bid Announcement Didn’t Get Off To The Best Start
DeSantis’ announcement was made during an event with Twitter owner Elon Musk and tech investor David Sacks – an interesting move, we must say, which perhaps suggests that he wants to win over right-wing activists that are on the social media platform. However, it didn’t get off to the best start, as it was delayed by 25 minutes due to technical difficulties. According to The Telegraph, Sacks said the technical glitches were down to the sheer volume of people tuning in and “melting the servers,” while DeSantis’ campaign managers spun the narrative to suggest that he was so popular, the announcement “literally busted up the internet.”
However, social media didn’t feel quite the same way, and many Twitter users ripped the Florida governor to shreds, with many users referring to the announcement as a “disaster” and “disastrous,” and another sarcastically saying it was a “great start to his campaign.” “If anything in this world ever deserved to be turned into a gif, it was this moment,” said another user. “Unscheduled disassembly,” someone else wrote, while another added, “Ominous signs of how the campaign will go on; just random noise!” Someone else said: “It’s like a Simpsons bit.”
Trump also wanted to get in on the action, and wrote on his Truth Social platform, “The DeSanctus TWITTER launch is a DISASTER! His whole campaign will be a disaster. WATCH!” In a separate message, he added: “I know Ron. The way he handled his announcement, he will handle the Country!” President Joe Biden also semi-trolled DeSantis, and tweeted, “This link works,” with a link to a page to donate to his campaign.
In his announcement, DeSantis said the country is going in the wrong direction under President Biden, and urged Republicans to get behind him. “I am running for president of the United States to lead our great American comeback,” DeSantis said once he eventually started his announcement. “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.”
I’m running for president to lead our Great American Comeback. pic.twitter.com/YmkWkLaVDg
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) May 24, 2023
“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 continued, adding, “No excuses, I will get the job done.”
Although DeSantis stepped into the Republican primary much later than the other contenders, he seems to be in a great position already, as he reportedly has more campaign cash and support in the polls than anyone else, except for Trump.
Did DeSantis Say Anything About Donald Trump?
Speaking of the twice-impeached former president, DeSantis didn’t actually follow in his footsteps and slam his fellow opponents, as he didn’t directly attack Trump when he had the opportunity to during the question-and-answer session following the announcement. Conservative commentator Steve Deace asked how DeSantis would ensure his agenda becomes reality after listing some of the areas where Trump failed, and DeSantis' response was interesting.
"Even my worst critics in Florida will acknowledge when I tell people I’m going to do something," DeSantis said, adding, "I don’t make promises or say I’m going to do something lightly."
