Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launched his 2024 presidential campaign on Wednesday with firm words but a disastrous Twitter announcement that did little to counter criticism that the 44-year-old Republican may not be ready to take on former President Donald Trump.
Earlier, DeSantis filed the documents with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday declaring his intention to seek his party’s nomination in 2024.
He later posted a video on Twitter officially launching his campaign, which started with criticisms of President Joe Biden and said he wants to lead a "Great American Comeback."
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"Righting the ship requires restoring sanity to our society, normalcy to our communities, and integrity to our institutions," DeSantis says in the video. "Truth must be our foundation — and common sense can no longer be an uncommon virtue. In Florida, we proved that it can be done."
He was also discussing his candidacy at an event Wednesday night with Twitter CEO Elon Musk. DeSantis’ audio-only announcement was to be streamed on Twitter Spaces beginning at 6 p.m. EDT, followed by appearances on conservative programs, including Fox News and Mark Levin's radio show.
While he tried to project confidence, DeSantis' unusual decision to announce his campaign in an online conversation with Musk ultimately backfired. The audio stream crashed repeatedly, making it virtually impossible for most users to hear the new presidential candidate in real-time.
“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."
While his critics in both parties delighted in 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 nation’s bitter fights over race, gender, abortion and other divisive issues.
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DeSantis also was holding a donor event at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Miami on Wednesday, where a large group of protesters had gathered outside.
DeSantis is joining a growing candidate field that includes Trump as well as Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor, among others.
DeSantis, 44, has spent the months leading up to his campaign announcement pushing through what Democrats have called anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Florida with the help of GOP supermajorities in the statehouse. DeSantis’ agenda has been aggressive on multiple fronts, including gender identity, and he has made anti-LGBTQ+ legislation a large part of his messaging.
He signed bills last week that ban sex reassignment surgeries and puberty blockers for minors, target drag shows for children, restrict discussion of personal pronouns in schools and force people to use certain bathrooms.
DeSantis has taken on Disney in a tug-of-war for more than a year after the company opposed a state law that bans classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades.
“We just completed what I would say is the boldest and most far-reaching agenda that we’ve seen in the modern history of the Republican Party,” DeSantis told about 30 New Hampshire lawmakers on a trip to Bedford last week.
Once an ally of Trump, DeSantis' choice to run in 2024 has drawn the ire of the former president. Trump has for months been treating DeSantis as if he were already a candidate, attacking him relentlessly on social media and through his campaign staff and surrogates.
More than half the members of Florida’s U.S. House delegation, of which DeSantis was once a member, have endorsed Trump. For his part, DeSantis has so far offered only mild criticism of Trump in response.
DeSantis delayed his campaign announcement until Florida’s 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.
More than any of his opponents, except perhaps Trump, DeSantis is positioned to hit the ground running thanks to the super PAC’s monthslong efforts to install campaign infrastructure across Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, which will host the first four contests on the GOP’s primary calendar early next year.
DeSantis gave no hint as to his plans during a meeting of the state clemency board Wednesday morning in Tallahassee, where he granted several pardons to former prisoners charged mostly with drug-related crimes decades ago.
“You are what the country needs,” one man said after getting his pardon.
A smiling DeSantis chuckled and thanked him.
