As expected, Ron DeSandis confirmed his candidacy for the White House on Wednesday, but the launch of his opponent Donald Trump’s campaign in the Republican primaries turned into a fiasco due to a number of technical problems.

The candidacy of Florida governor was eagerly awaited by many supporters of the American right to give them an alternative to the former president, with whom Mr. DeSandis has much in common politically and ideologically, without, however, the excesses and excesses of the magnate.

In a video broadcast live on Twitter, the 44-year-old politician, seen as the New York billionaire’s main rival, vowed to make America’s “great comeback” a reality. An expression reminiscent of Mr. Trump’s 2016 victory campaign, with the central slogan “Make America Great Again” (“let’s make America great again”).

The governor then tried to clarify his position by talking to Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter. But a series of technical problems prevented the smooth transmission of the broadcast, which was heard by hundreds of thousands of people.

“This link works”

“Thanks for your patience”, “your microphone is not open”… the head of Twitter struggled to deal with the chaos.

The governor wanted to present his vision of the country on the example of Florida, which he has turned in recent years into a laboratory of ultra-conservative ideas.

“I am determined to be an energetic leader who will tackle important issues,” he promised, sticking to the immigration issue.

But the messages he wanted to convey were mired in a number of technical problems, probably much to Donald Trump’s delight.

“Technical problems. Awkward silence. Complete failure,” praised a spokesman for the former president.

The winner of the Republican caucus will face the Democratic nominee in November 2024 — barring the shocking odds of President Joe Biden.

The octogenarian head of state, in turn, playfully shrugged off Mr. DeSandis’ campaign launch: “That link works,” the presidential candidate joked on Twitter, referring to the website through which he raises funds for his own campaign.

Against ideological “suggestion”

Former Navy officer Mr. DeSandis has boosted his popularity through measures that affect the reflexes of ultra-conservative voters, especially with regard to immigration and, above all, in the field of education, in the name of combating alleged indoctrination. young people.

But his path to the White House is littered with ambushes. Several supporters of the American right have pinned hopes on his candidacy since his triumphant re-election as governor of Florida in November 2022, when Donald Trump seemed to be losing support. But according to public opinion polls, he now lags far behind the former president.

Of course, these investigations should be treated with some caution, as the election still seems far away, but of course, this does not prevent Donald Trump from sharing them with glee through the social network he created, Truth Social.

The biggest flaw of the right-wing Florida politician, the father of three, is that he is not particularly charismatic, which is pointed out from all sides. And, of course, Mr. Trump will not like it, he attacks him, pointing out exactly this.

Million per hour

The feud between the two politicians, now rivals, began long before Florida’s governor even showed himself with blunt statements and competitive speeches.

Despite his many justice headaches, Mr. Trump has given his all to his third White House campaign, mobilizing his base, which remains largely loyal to him.

In this battle, Mr. DeSandis will have to raise large sums of money from supporters and donors, a huge “war chest” as the campaign cliché goes.

His team claimed to have raised a million dollars in just the first hour of their campaign.

Ron DeSandis, elected governor of Florida in 2018 with the fervent support of…Donald Trump, presents himself as the epitome of the GOP’s new guard.

Other Republican nominees (Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Issa Hutchinson) rarely get more than 5% of the vote so far.

Source: RES-IPE