Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launches 2024 presidential campaign to challenge Trump
Florida Gov. launched his 2024 presidential campaign on Wednesday with a Twitter announcement plagued by technical glitches, stepping into a crowded Republican primary contest that will test his strength against former President Donald Trump and criticism that he's not ready for the national stage.
The 44-year-old Republican, an outspoken cultural conservative, initially announced his decision in a video posted on social media, but planned to discuss it further in a first-of-its-kind conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk on Twitter Spaces. But the audio stream crashed repeatedly, making it virtually impossible for most users to hear the high-profile announcement in real time.
바카라 게임 웹사이트We need the courage to lead and the strength to win,바카라 게임 웹사이트 DeSantis said in a minute-long video posted on social media before the conversation with Musk. 바카라 게임 웹사이트I바카라 게임 웹사이트m Ron DeSantis, and I바카라 게임 웹사이트m running for president to lead our great American comeback.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Despite the rocky start, DeSantis' announcement marks a new chapter in his extraordinary rise from little-known congressman to two-term governor to a leading figure in the nation바카라 게임 웹사이트s bitter fights over race, gender, abortion and other divisive issues.
DeSantis is considered to be even as the governor faces questions about his far-right policies, his campaign-trail personality and his lack of relationships across the Republican ecosystem. Still, he has generated significant interest among GOP primary voters by casting himself as a younger and more electable version of the 76-year-old former president.
The ultimate Republican nominee is expected to face Democratic President on the general election ballot in November 2024.
DeSantis joins a field that also includes former U.N. Ambassador , Sen. of South Carolina, former Arkansas Gov. and biotech entrepreneur . Former Vice President Mike Pence is also considered a likely presidential candidate but has not yet announced a bid.
DeSantis tried to discus his presidential candidacy for the first time in a conversation on Twitter Space with Musk, one of the world's richest men who is increasingly considered a conservative cult hero. The meeting was moderated by Republican donor David Sacks, a tech entrepreneur who is close to Musk.
The event started off with technical glitches the Twitter owner said were due to 바카라 게임 웹사이트straining바카라 게임 웹사이트 servers because so many people were trying to listen to the audio-only event.
Musk a day earlier dubbed the event a historic first for Twitter, saying it will be 바카라 게임 웹사이트the first time something like this is happening on social media.바카라 게임 웹사이트 The event was scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. EDT, but 20 minutes passed with users getting kicked off, hearing microphone feedback and other technical problems.
"This is a disaster. Not surprising,바카라 게임 웹사이트 tweeted senior Trump adviser Chris LaCivita.
Meanwhile, DeSantis and Trump have much in common.
DeSantis, who likely would not have become the Florida governor without Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s endorsement, has adopted the former president바카라 게임 웹사이트s fiery personality, his populist policies and even some of his rhetoric and mannerisms.
Video below: Florida Gov. DeSantis visits New Hampshire
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 in New York, and who in three consecutive national elections.
DeSantis, just six months ago, in Florida by a stunning 19 percentage points 바카라 게임 웹사이트 even as Republicans in many other states struggled. He also scored several major policy victories during the Republican-controlled Legislature바카라 게임 웹사이트s spring session.
Aware of DeSantis바카라 게임 웹사이트 draw, Trump has been almost singularly focused on undermining his political appeal for months. Trump and his team believe that DeSantis may be Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s only legitimate threat for the nomination.
Hours before the announcement, Trump argued in a social media post that 바카라 게임 웹사이트Ron DeSanctus바카라 게임 웹사이트 cannot win the general election or the GOP primary because of his previous votes in Congress on Social Security and Medicare.
바카라 게임 웹사이트He desperately needs a personality transplant and, to the best of my knowledge, they are not medically available yet," Trump added. "A disloyal person!바카라 게임 웹사이트
Trump allies dispatched a truck outside DeSantis' planned donor meeting running an attack ad describing him as 바카라 게임 웹사이트a swamp creature." The Democratic National Committee sent another truck warning of DeSantis바카라 게임 웹사이트 바카라 게임 웹사이트extreme MAGA agenda.바카라 게임 웹사이트
The kitchen-sink attacks and nicknames won바카라 게임 웹사이트t be DeSantis바카라 게임 웹사이트 only hurdle.
He is a political heavyweight in Florida and a regular on Fox 온라인 바카라 게임, but allies acknowledge that most primary voters in other states don바카라 게임 웹사이트t know him well.
A Florida native with family roots in the Midwest, DeSantis studied at Yale University, where he played baseball. He would go on to Harvard Law School and become a Navy judge advocate general officer, a position that took him to Iraq and the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
He ran for Congress in 2012 and won an Orlando-area district, becoming a founding member of the far-right Freedom Caucus on Capitol Hill.
Despite his lengthy resume, friends and foes alike note that DeSantis struggles to display the campaign-trail charisma and quick-on-your-feet thinking that often defines successful candidates at the national level. He has gone to great lengths to avoid unscripted public appearances and media scrutiny while governor, which is difficult, if not impossible, as a presidential contender.
In an example of his level of media avoidance, his official Twitter account for governor posted a photo shortly after the FEC filing 바카라 게임 웹사이트 a bill signing surrounded by dozens of bikers for legislation to help reduce motorcycle accidents in Florida. The media was not notified of the event ahead of time.
Late Wednesday, DeSantis바카라 게임 웹사이트 office announced that he signed a broad election law bill that contains a provision his post as governor, exempting himself from a state rule known as 바카라 게임 웹사이트resign to run.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Would-be supporters also worry that DeSantis has refused to invest in relationships with party leaders or fellow elected officials, raising questions about his ability to build the coalition he would ultimately need to beat Trump. By contrast, Trump has scooped up an army of endorsements in key states, including Florida.
Beyond the primary, DeSantis바카라 게임 웹사이트 greatest longer-term challenge may rest with the as governor as an unapologetic leader in what he calls his "war on woke.바카라 게임 웹사이트
The Florida governor from Texas to Martha바카라 게임 웹사이트s Vineyard off the Massachusetts coast to draw attention to the influx of Latin American immigrants trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. He signed and then expanded the Parental Rights in Education bill 바카라 게임 웹사이트 known by critics as the 바카라 게임 웹사이트Don바카라 게임 웹사이트t Say Gay바카라 게임 웹사이트 law, which bans instruction or classroom discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in Florida public schools for all grades.
More recently, he signed a law banning abortions at six weeks, which is before most women realize they바카라 게임 웹사이트re pregnant. And he removed an elected prosecutor who vowed not to charge people under Florida바카라 게임 웹사이트s new abortion restrictions or doctors who provide gender-affirming care.
DeSantis also signed a law this year allowing Florida residents to carry concealed firearms without a permit. He pushed new measures that critics warn would weaken press freedoms. He also took control of a liberal arts college that he believed was indoctrinating students with leftist ideology.
The governor바카라 게임 웹사이트s highest-profile political fight has come against the Florida entertainment giant Disney, which publicly opposed his 바카라 게임 웹사이트Don바카라 게임 웹사이트t Say Gay바카라 게임 웹사이트 law. In retaliation, DeSantis seized control of Disney World바카라 게임 웹사이트s governing body and installed loyalists who are threatening to take over park planning, among other extraordinary measures.
DeSantis has threatened to build a state prison adjacent to park property.
The dispute has drawn condemnation from business leaders and his Republican rivals, who said the moves are at odds with small-government conservatism.
DeSantis delayed his campaign announcement until Florida바카라 게임 웹사이트s legislative session was over. But for much of the year, he has been courting primary voters in key states and using an allied super political action committee to build a large political organization that is essentially a campaign in waiting and already claims at least $30 million in the bank.
Super PAC adviser David Polyansky said Trump has made 바카라 게임 웹사이트significant strategic mistakes바카라 게임 웹사이트 on policy 바카라 게임 웹사이트 especially abortion 바카라 게임 웹사이트 that DeSantis' team is prepared to exploit.
And More than any of his opponents, perhaps even Trump, DeSantis is positioned to hit the ground running thanks to the super PAC바카라 게임 웹사이트s monthslong efforts to install campaign infrastructure across Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, which will host the first four contests on the GOP바카라 게임 웹사이트s primary calendar early next year.
In fact, the super PAC is already building out DeSantis' political operation in states that host primaries in March, signaling a very long road ahead to the Republican presidential nomination.
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Peoples reported from New York. Izaguirre reported in Tallahassee, Florida.