Arch-conservative governor of Florida: Ron DeSantis. © SCOTT OLSON
With a more than bumpy start, the Republican governor of the US state of Florida enters the 2024 presidential race. The news ticker.
- Presidential candidate: Ron DeSantis submits application for the Republican nomination
- Polls speak for ex-president: Donald Trump is ahead of Ron DeSantis in voter favor.
- Who will be the Republican nominee? All the news from the USA in our news ticker.
Update from May 25, 4:00 a.m.: At the beginning of his election campaign for the 2024 presidential candidacy, US Republican Ron DeSantis was confronted with a technical problem. Originally, he planned to talk to Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, in a live conference ("Spaces") about his ambitions for the White House. However, there were on Wednesday evening (local time) again and again violent sound problems.
At first, presenter David Sacks could be heard, but there were always dropouts in the sound. After about 20 minutes, the recording was abruptly stopped and displayed as "finished". A few minutes later, the event was restarted and DeSantis began his speech. Shortly before, the Republican had posted a video on Twitter in which he officially announced his candidacy for the presidential election in 2024.
Ron DeSantis opens his 2024 presidential campaign with a live event with Twitter CEO Elon Musk, which turned into a farce due to technical problems. (Illustration) © CHRIS DELMAS/afp
The technical problems immediately led to amused comments. For example, President Joe Biden posted a tweet with the comment "This link works" - and a link to a campaign fundraising page for him.
"We just have a massive number of people online, so the servers are a bit overloaded," Musk said apologetically. Later, the transfer worked. DeSantis said with regard to his candidacy: "We have to end the loser culture that has infected the Republican Party in recent years."
This is likely to be a swipe at Trump, who lost the 2020 presidential election to Biden, and whom many Republicans also blame for the party's disappointing performance in last November's congressional midterm elections.
In his first propaganda video, DeSantis said, "We need the courage to lead and the strength to gain." He later wrote on Twitter, "I'm running for president to lead our great American comeback."
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Trump takes aim at DeSantis
Donald Trump has attacked what is probably his most dangerous intra-party competitor with sharp words. "Instead of being grateful, DeSantis is now attacking the very man who saved his career," reads one of two videos posted by Trump on the online platform he co-founded, Truth Social.
There is only one who can make America great again, the video says – and the hot Donald Trump. During his time in the White House, he had already been able to prove this.
It's official: DeSantis is running against Trump
Update from May 24, 21:07 p.m.: Now it's official: The prominent US Republican Ron DeSantis wants to become president of the United States. The governor of the state of Florida filed the necessary documents with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday. The Washington Postreported on this first, citing a spokeswoman for the 44-year-old.
U.S. election: DeSantis challenges Trump - and wants to become the next U.S. president
DeSantis is considered a conservative hardliner. Along with former President Donald Trump, he is credited with the greatest chances in the race for the Republican candidacy. Trump had already announced in November that he would enter the presidential race for the 2024 election and compete against incumbent President Joe Biden. The fact that DeSantis has now thrown his hat into the ring had already been expected. The submission of the documents took place just a few hours before an expected announcement in a conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk - of all things, on the platform that Trump once used so excessively.
DeSantis wants to become US president with Elon Musk's help - wife publishes video
Update from May 24, 14:10 p.m.: Ron DeSantis is very likely to enter the race for the US presidency in the evening. His wifeCasey published a video in advance that alludes to the upcoming announcement. With the pathos of a Hollywood film, the politician steps backstage, while a voice says to the cheers of an invisible audience: "They call it faith, because in the face of darkness you can see a better future. A belief that our best days are ahead of us." In the video, DeSantis takes another breath and resolutely walks towards a curtain. When he opens it and apparently enters the stage, the video ends.
DeSantis' candidacy as U.S. president probably makes Trump nervous
Update from May 24, 10:20 a.m.: The possible candidacy of Ron DeSantis already seems to be making Donald Trump nervous. The former president of the United States responded shortly after the reports about the Florida governor with a post on Truth Social, Trump's own social media platform. There, Donald shared an article by conservative radio host Wayne Allyn Root, addressed to Ron DeSantis, headlined, "Please resign!"
Ron DeSantis announces candidacy for U.S. president
First reported on May 24, 2023: Washington, D.C. -- The announcement had been long-awaited. At least since his triumphant re-election in the congressional midterm elections in November, he was considered the coming man of the Republicans. On Wednesday (24 May), Florida's conservative Governor Ron DeSantis will officially announce his bid for the 2024 US presidential election, openly challenging former President Donald Trump.
This in itself is not surprising. However, the way DeSantis entered the race is rather unusual. According to US media reports, the 44-year-old wants to announce his application on Twitter. In a conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk broadcast there, DeSantis wants to officially announce his plans. The talk is scheduled for 18:00 p.m. local time (midnight CEST) on Twitter Spaces, where audiences can follow live audio conversations.
DeSantis will announce candidacy in conversation with Musk on Twitter
Musk confirmed to the Wall Street Journal in an interview that he would question DeSantis. And he proudly added, "He has quite an announcement to make." The conversation will not follow a script, but will be spontaneous. "It will be the first time something like this has happened on social media and with questions and answers in real time, not prepared," the Twitter boss added.
At the same time, Musk emphasized that he does not currently support a particular candidate. On the other hand, he made it clear with a targeted remark that he would probably not like to see Trump in office. When asked who he prefers for the 2024 election, Musk said he and most people in the U.S. want someone in office who is "reasonably normal" - which can be understood as a spike against Donald Trump. In any case, the former president can hardly be assigned to this category.
DeSantis pursues an extreme right-wing policy in Florida
On the other hand, the policy that DeSantis pursues in Florida cannot be measured by normal standards either. The arch-conservative Republican is pursuing a staunchly right-wing course in Florida and presents himself as a fighter against a supposed "woke" ideology of the left. Some of the laws he has pushed are so extreme that a U.S. civil rights organization has now issued a travel warning for Florida. Meanwhile, an expert on fascism warns that DeSantis will "destroy our democracy."
Trump had already announced in November that he would enter the race for the presidential candidacy for the 2024 election. DeSantis has been governor of the southern US state of Florida since the beginning of 2019. Before the father of three made a career as a politician, he attended the elite universities Yale and Harvard, was in the Navy - and in Iraq in service. Prior to his election as governor, DeSantis served for several years as a member of the House of Representatives.
DeSantis clearly behind Trump in polls
After his re-election as governor, DeSantis was even ahead of Donald Trump in some polls, but is now clearly behind again. The gap to the right-wing populist is on average more than 30 percentage points. However, the official candidacy should give him new impetus.
Republicans will choose their candidate for the November 2024 presidential election in primaries that begin early next year. In addition to Donald Trump, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, the African-American Senator Tim Scott and the former governor of the southern state of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, also want to compete in the intra-party primaries. Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence is also considering a candidacy. Now Ron DeSantis joins them. (with agencies)
