Ron DeSantis news – live: DeSantis’ glitch-filled 2024 launch on Elon Musk’s Twitter Spaces branded ‘DeSaster’

Ron DeSantis’ hotly-anticipated 2024 campaign launch fell flat on Wednesday night when it was marred by technical glitches from the off.

The Florida governor, 44, chose to announce his presidential run in an unconventional way – in a Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk and David Sacks.

But, the event got off to a rocky start when it crashed several times and the sound repeatedly dropped out.

While Musk claimed the servers were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people tuning in to listen, Mr DeSantis faced ridicule for the underwhelming launch from online commentators and both sides of the political aisle.

His main Republican rival Donald Trump jumped at the chance to brand the launch a “disaster” while his son Don Jr coined the term “DeSaster” – a hashtag that soon began trending on Twitter.

President Joe Biden also joined in the ridicule, posting a link to his donation page with the quip: “This link works.”

Meanwhile, AOC joked that she had more viewers join when she famously played Among Us on Twitch.

Mr DeSantis, who is seen as Mr Trump’s biggest rival for the Republican vote, sought to brush off the debacle in a Fox News interview.

Key Points

• Biden mocks chaotic DeSantis 2024 launch amid Twitter tech issues: ‘This link works’

• MSNBC host calls DeSantis Twitter Space ‘ASTOUNDINGLY HUMILIATING degree of incompetence'

• After tech issues subside, DeSantis mocked for ‘annoying voice’

• Fox news calls DeSantis announcement on Twitter ‘a disaster’ as Trump joins in mockery

• AOC mocks amount of listeners to DeSantis Twitter Spaces event

Key takeaways from Ron DeSantis’ campaign rollout

17:14 , Oliver O'Connell

After a 30-minute delay caused by technological glitches with Twitter’s “Spaces” audio conversation system, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ much-hyped announcement of his 2024 presidential campaign kicked off with a billionaire praising another billionaire.

The first billionaire, venture capitalist and DeSantis booster David Sacks, opened the conversation with fulsome praise for Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX impresario who bought Twitter last year with the aim of allowing unfettered conversations by all sorts of right-wing characters who’d been banned for violating the site’s rules under its prior management.

Mr Sacks then turned to introduce Mr DeSantis, who he said first drew his attention when the Florida governor began attacking public health measures recommended by medical professionals at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

And with that, Mr DeSantis began making his pitch to voters — or at least the voters who are on Twitter and cared enough to listen.

Here are some key takeaways.

Key takeaways from Ron DeSantis’ campaign rollout

Elon Musk insists DeSantis troubled Twitter launch was a success

16:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Elon Musk has rushed to defend Ron DeSantis’ launch after the Twitter Spaces event was marred by glitches and technical issues.

In a tweet, the Twitter boss insisted that the audio-only event was a success, calling it the “top story on Earth” – despite the biggest talking point from the night being the technical problems plunging it into chaos.

Joe Sommerlad reports.

Elon Musk rushes to defend Ron DeSantis’s disastrous Twitter launch

DeSantis launch ridiculed for Twitter Spaces meltdown

16:15 , Oliver O'Connell

If Ron DeSantis was hoping for a flashy entrance into the 2024 race for the White House, Wednesday’s Twitter Spaces event hosted by CEO Elon Musk and moderator David Sacks was not it.

The long-awaited official launch event of the DeSantis 2024 campaign ended up being a disjointed mess peppered with technical issues that was instantly ridiculed by his political enemies.

John Bowden reports.

DeSantis’s 2024 bid ridiculed as Musk’s Twitter event melts down

Memes mock dire Ron DeSantis 2024 launch

15:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Ron DeSantis’ attempt to launch his 2024 presidential campaign via Twitter Spaces did not go as planned as the platform faced a plethora of technological issues, prompting a flood of memes and mockery.

Ariana Baio reports.

Memes mock disastrous DeSantis 2024 launch as #DeSaster trends

‘Just call me winner’: DeSantis laughs off Trump’s endless list of nicknames

15:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Newly-announced presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis laughed off name-calling from his top rival Donald Trump, saying the former president can call him whatever he likes as long as he ‘calls me winner’.

Fresh off the heels of a glitchy announcement about his bid for the Republican nomination for 2024, Mr DeSantis was asked about Mr Trump’s myriad nicknames for him (which include, but are not limited to, Meatball Ron, Ron DeSanctimonious, Tiny D, and RonDishonest) and laughed them off.

Read more...

DeSantis laughs off Trump’s endless list of mocking nicknames: ‘Just call me winner’

Trump campaign launches new ad after DeSantis formally enters 2024 race

15:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s campaign launched a new ad on Twitter taking aim at Ron DeSantis moments after the Florida governor announced his formal bid for the 2024 presidency.

The ad includes images of Mr DeSantis with president Joe Biden and asks: “Why would we ever settle for Trump imposters?”

It also includes a clip of Mr DeSantis sitting with a child and pointing to a Trump campaign sign as the governor is heard reading, “Make America Great Again.”

Anti-DeSantis protesters demonstrate outside Miami hotel hosting donor meeting

14:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Protesters demonstrated outside a luxury hotel in Miami as wealth donors to newly announced 2024 candidate Ron DeSantis met.

The protest assembled outside the city’s Four Seasons hotel hours before Mr DeSantis announced his bid for the presidency in a chaotic Twitter event with Elon Musk. Mr DeSantis was not actually present at the hotel, according to the Miami Herald.

Graeme Massie filed this report last night.

Anti-DeSantis protesters demonstrate outside luxury Miami hotel

Boycott Florida? Warnings from civil rights groups call attention to ‘hostile’ DeSantis agenda

14:30 , Sravasti Dasgupta

“Governor Ron DeSantis has inflicted deep and lasting damage upon our state, eroding the fundamental rights of our residents and visitors while exploiting the word ‘free’ as a hollow campaign slogan,” said Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida.

The group warned LGBT+ people traveling to the state last month after the governor advanced a sweeping set of policies targeting LGBT+ people, particularly transgender youth, that have echoed in state legislatures across the US.

Other advisories followed from the League of United Latin American Citizens and the NAACP, two of the oldest and largest civil rights advocacy groups in the US.

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT+ political advocacy group, also has joined Equality Florida’s advisory.

Alex Woodward reports on how three of the largest civil rights groups in the country issued Florida travel advisories in an effort to draw attention to the presidential candidate’s far-right campaign:

Boycott Florida? Warnings from civil rights groups on ‘hostile’ DeSantis agenda

Everything we know about Ron DeSantis’ policies as he launches 2024 campaign

14:00 , Ariana Baio

As Florida Governor Ron DeSantis prepares to announce his official bid for president of the United States, Americans are getting a taste of what a future under Mr DeSantis could look like.

For months, Mr DeSantis, 44, has been called a possible frontrunner for the GOP nomination in the media because of his reputation for passing conservative legislation and comfortable re-election to the governor’s mansion.

From passing a six-week abortion ban to eliminating concealed carry permits, Mr DeSantis has proven he is willing to pass controversial legislation in the name of uniting the state under right-leaning values.

And the Florida governor seems to be hoping for the same if he were to become US president.

Here’s what Mr DeSantis has said about the future of the US and what he thinks of certain policies:

Everything we know about Ron DeSantis’ policies as he launches 2024 campaign

From self-proclaimed ‘socialist’ to Team Trump and DeSantis? Elon Musk’s curious politics revealed

13:30 , Io Dodds

“I prefer to stay out of politics.” Those were Elon Musk’s words when forced in September 2021 to respond to a claim by Texas Governor Greg Abbott that he supported the state’s anti-abortion laws.

If he really does prefer to stay out of politics, however, Musk has a funny way of showing it. Over his many years of fame as the chief executive of Tesla, SpaceX, and now Twitter, the South African-born tycoon has attacked everyone and everything from Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders through individual regulatory officials to Covid rules, trade unions, and “pronouns”.

Since 2022, his public political stances have taken a sharp rightward turn as he declared his support for the Republican Party, aligned himself with far-right activists on Twitter, disparaged transgender rights, embraced conservative conspiracy theories, and pledged to save civilisation from the “woke mind virus”.

His activities appear to have earned him the patronage of Florida’s GOP governor Ron DeSantis, who was announcing that he is running for president during a conversation with Musk in Twitter’s audio panel service Spaces on Wednesday 24 May.

Read more:

What are Elon Musk’s political beliefs?

Can DeSantis win? What do the polls say?

13:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

Much of Mr DeSantis’s case for being president has focused on electability, with his pitch being that he is the only Republican candidate who can beat President Joe Biden. Similarly, Mr DeSantis has sold himself as a conservative warrior who has passed legislation restricting abortion access and curtailing how sexual orientation and gender identity are taught in schools.

At the same time, his donors argue that his relative youth – at age 44, he is the youngest male governor in the country – as well as his focus on the environment, could help him appeal to moderate voters.

Read more:

Can DeSantis win? This is what the polls say

Trump fans mock DeSantis campaign site logo as he enters 2024 race

12:30 , Oliver O'Connell

“Biggest communications blunder”?

DeSantis campaign site logo mocked as he enters presidential race

‘Pudding fingers’: The truth behind the story

11:45 , Oliver O'Connell

As Ron DeSantis announces his presidential campaign, his main rival Donald Trump has seized on the rumour that the Florida Governor has been spotted eating pudding with his bare hands.

This is the bizarre story behind the saga that’s now been turned into a campaign insult in the burgeoning fight between the ex-president and his former ally.

Read on:

The truth behind the bizarre Ron DeSantis ‘pudding fingers’ claim

Anti-DeSantis protesters demonstrate outside Miami hotel amid meeting of governor’s donors

11:15 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Protesters demonstrated outside a luxury hotel in Miami as wealth donors to newly announced 2024 candidate Ron DeSantis met.

The protest assembled outside the city’s Four Seasons hotel hours before Mr DeSantis announced his bid for the presidency in a chaotic Twitter event with Elon Musk. Mr DeSantis was not actually present at the hotel, according to the Miami Herald.

The Four Seasons crowd – which seemingly numbered around 100 protesters, according to the Miami Herald – chanted “F*** DeSantis” as the meeting took place.

Graeme Massie reports:

Anti-DeSantis protesters demonstrate outside luxury Miami hotel

Can DeSantis win the White House as he won Florida?

10:45 , Oliver O'Connell

John Bowden profiles the Yale-educated governor who has become the highest-profile Republican seeking to dethrone Donald Trump.

The War on Terror made DeSantis Florida’s anti-woke warrior. Can it win in 2024?

Trump campaign launches new ad after DeSantis formally enters 2024 race

10:15 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Donald Trump’s campaign launched a new ad on Twitter taking aim at Ron DeSantis moments after the Florida governor announced his formal bid for the 2024 presidency.

The ad includes images of Mr DeSantis with president Joe Biden and asks: “Why would we ever settle for Trump imposters?”

It also includes a clip of Mr DeSantis sitting with a child and pointing to a Trump campaign sign as the governor is heard reading, “Make America Great Again.”

Can DeSantis beat Trump in the primaries?

09:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Andrew Feinberg and Eric Garcia write:

He’s a ubiquitous presence in conservative media with a reputation as an anti-woke warrior who has used a compliant state legislature to make Florida a mecca for Trump-era Republicanism.

But if Ron DeSantis wants to be president, he has to defeat Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and prominent Florida politicians aren’t so sure either of those things will ever happen.

Read on:

Can Ron DeSantis beat Donald Trump? These Florida political veterans aren’t so sure

DeSantis campaign says it has raised $1m in an hour after White House launch

09:15 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Florida governor Ron DeSantis’ campaign raised $1m in one hour on Wednesday following his 2024 presidential announcement, a spokesperson has said.

Bryan Griffin, who resigned as the governor’s spokesperson recently to join his political operation, said the funds were raised online.

“There was so much enthusiasm for Governor DeSantis’ vision for our Great American Comeback that he literally busted up the internet,” he said in a tweet.

“Washington is next. $1 million raised online in one hour... and counting!”

‘Faulty robot’ DeSantis mocked over roaring laugh

08:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Ron DeSantis has been mocked for a bizarre video that shows him roaring with laughter at an Iowa car show.

Watch and cringe through the link below:

Ron DeSantis mocked over bizarre video of roaring laughter

DeSantis vows to fire FBI director

08:15 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Florida governor Ron DeSantis has vowed to dismiss FBI director Christopher Wray if elected as president, hours after he formally launched his 2024 campaign.

In an interview with Fox News Mr DeSantis said that the the bureau and the Justice Department have “lost their way” and allowed themselves to be “weaponised” against Americans.

“No, I would not keep Chris Wray as director of the FBI. There’ll be a new one on day one,” he said.

He added that he would nominate an attorney general with a “strong backbone” who must be able to do his job in the face of attacks by left-wing media like the Washington Post and New York Times.

“You’re going to get attacked by CNN. And you’ve got to wear that as a badge of honor. You can’t try to please polite society because otherwise you’ll just get captured by the institution itself,” he said.

“And I think the DOJ (Department of Justice) and FBI have lost their way. I think that they’ve been weaponized against Americans who think like me and you. And I think that they become very partisan.”

DeSantis aide defends flag used in teaser ad

07:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The video served as a teaser for Mr DeSantis’ campaign announcement. But the placement of the flag in it triggered discussion online about flag etiquette and American vexillological history that left one aide to Mr DeSantis open to mockery for gaps in her knowledge.

Abe Asher has the story.

DeSantis aide voices confusion about history of US flag after campaign teaser video

DeSantis’s wife launches his presidential campaign with first 2024 video

07:15 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Ron DeSantis’s wife Casey launched her husband’s 2024 presidential bid by posting a video of the Florida governor getting ready to go on stage in front of an American flag.

Florida’s first lady posted the video to Twitter on Tuesday night, the day before Mr DeSantis formally announced his campaign in a Twitter event with Elon Musk.

“America is worth the fight... Every. Single. Time,” Ms DeSantis tweeted along with the expensively produced video.

Later on Wednesday after his official campaign launch she posted another tweet that said that Mr DeSantis is “ready to lead our Great American Comeback!”

Why did the DeSantis 2024 launch video include a British accent?

06:45 , Oliver O'Connell

What has attracted the most attention so far is that the voice, which you might have expected to be Mr DeSantis’ own, instead appears to be that of an unnamed Brit.

Viewers confused by British accent in Ron DeSantis’s 2024 launch video

Biden mocks chaotic DeSantis 2024 launch amid Twitter tech issues

06:15 , Sravasti Dasgupta

President Joe Biden poked fun at Ron DeSantis as the Florida governor’s 2024 campaign kickoff during a Twitter Spaces event with CEO Elon Musk was riddled with tech issues.

He posted a link to his donation page with a quip: “This link works.”

Read more:

Biden mocks chaotic DeSantis 2024 launch amid Twitter tech issues: ‘This link works’

Timeline: Trump v DeSantis

05:45 , Oliver O'Connell

During his own tenure in the White House in 2018, Donald Trump loudly cheered Ron DeSantis’s bid for the governor’s mansion, throwing his weight behind the former congressman and appearing at rallies to stump for him, playing an important role in the candidate’s narrow defeat of Democratic rival and Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum.

Since then, however, a great deal of water has passed beneath the bridge and the two men are now increasingly antagonistic towards one another.

Mr Trump has been busy yelling a steady stream of insults and barbed nicknames across the state from Mar-a-Lago, the majority of which Mr DeSantis has wisely allowed to pass without public comment.

Here is a timeline of their disintegrating relationship.

A timeline of Donald Trump’s rivalry with Ron DeSantis

Key takeaways from Ron DeSantis’ campaign rollout

05:15 , Sravasti Dasgupta

After a 30-minute delay caused by technological glitches with Twitter’s “Spaces” audio conversation system, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ much-hyped announcement of his 2024 presidential campaign kicked off with a billionaire praising another billionaire.

And with that, Mr DeSantis began making his pitch to voters — or at least the voters who are on Twitter and cared enough to listen.

Andrew Feinberg brings the key takeaways:

Key takeaways from Ron DeSantis’ campaign rollout

Profile: Casey DeSantis

04:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Joe Sommerlad looks at the life of the former TV news anchor, mother of three, and breast cancer survivor who could one day be first lady.

Who is Casey DeSantis? What we know about Florida governor Ron’s wife

Trump tries to hijack DeSantis 2024 announcement day

03:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump tried to steal the spotlight away from Ron DeSantis’ 2024 campaign announcement day by launching into an insult-packed rant about the Florida governor on his Truth Social platform.

On Wednesday morning, the former president began his day by spewing a series of attacks on the man expected to be his biggest rival for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential race.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Trump tries to hijack DeSantis 2024 announcement day with insult-packed rant

Boycott Florida? Warnings from civil rights groups call attention to ‘hostile’ DeSantis agenda

03:10 , Alex Woodward

For 1,000 days, after a decade of racist violence and unrest in Florida and around the US, a boycott launched by Black residents in Miami called on Black tourists and businesses to stay out of the city.

From 17 July 1990 to 12 May 1993, a boycott supported by the NAACP and other civil rights groups urged visitors to steer clear, inflicting potentially tens of millions of dollars in lost tourism revenue in Miami-Dade County.

Black Miami residents had long been subject to systemic inequality and exclusion from the city’s lucrative tourism industry, but the city’s rejection of Nelson Mandela following his release from a 27-year prison sentence proved to be the tipping point.

Thirty years later, another coalition of civil rights groups has issued travel advisories warning visitors before traveling to the state, where Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has advanced a far-right platform targeting civil liberties, education, healthcare and immigration.

“Governor Ron DeSantis has inflicted deep and lasting damage upon our state, eroding the fundamental rights of our residents and visitors while exploiting the word ‘free’ as a hollow campaign slogan,” said Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida.

Read more:

Boycott Florida? Warnings from civil rights groups on ‘hostile’ DeSantis agenda

Billionaires, media bashing and woke ‘bubbles’: Key takeaways from Ron DeSantis’ campaign rollout

03:00 , Graeme Massie

Attacks on the media, threats to dismantle elements of US government and warnings about the ‘woke mind virus’ dominate glitch-filled launch.

Key takeaways from Ron DeSantis’ campaign rollout

DeSantis is recruiting police officers with violent records, report says

02:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A number of law enforcement officers lured to Florida with one-time bonuses under a programme championed by Governor Ron DeSantis have violent records, new reporting shows.

Last spring, Mr DeSantis signed legislation giving a $5,000 after-tax bonus to new law enforcement recruits in Florida. The bill, Mr DeSantis claimed, would lure the “best and the brightest” law enforcement officers from states around the country to Florida.

Abe Asher reports.

DeSantis is recruiting police officers with violent records, report says

DeSantis launches ‘anti-woke’ 2024 bid amid ridicule as Musk’s Twitter Spaces event melts down

02:33 , Graeme Massie

Technical issues delay start of Florida governor’s launch event which quickly runs off-course.

DeSantis’s 2024 bid ridiculed as Musk’s Twitter event melts down

‘Normal Americans don’t want their president to be a ruthless assassin'

02:20 , Gustaf Kilander

Writer James Surowiecki tweeted on Wednesday night: “The most telling moment in the whole DeSantis event was Sacks praising him for being like a ‘cool-headed ruthless assassin’ in the war on wokeness. Normal Americans don’t want their president to be a ruthless assassin.”

“I will never understand why DeSantis didn’t hold a big kickoff rally in a Florida football stadium. It would have been covered live by cable news, and would have sent the message, ‘I’m a normal guy who likes the same things you do,’ which is a message DeSantis needs to send,” he added. “Instead, he launches his campaign in the [most] online way possible, risking the kind of glitchiness he ran into, and ensuring the TV coverage of the event would be minimal, since television networks like events with images.”

‘Trump is just so damned undeservedly lucky'

02:10 , Gustaf Kilander

MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan tweeted on Wednesday night following Mr DeSantis’s disastrous Twitter Spaces campaiugn launch: “What a lucky man Donald Trump is.”

“Consider his CNN Town Hall versus DeSantis’s Twitter Spaces ‘launch’ tonight. Trump is just so damned undeservedly lucky,” he added.

“Congratulations to DeSantis’s crack comms team, @BryanDGriffin, @ChristinaPushaw, and @JeremyRedfernFL, for organizing a totally effective and non-humiliating campaign launch for their boss with tech genius @elonmusk. Bravo! Remember, their pitch is ‘Trump but competent.’ Lol,” he said earlier in the night.

Florida Democrats slam DeSantis after disastrous Twitter Spaces campaign launch: ‘Tantrum-throwing bully’

02:00 , Alex Woodward and Gustaf Kilander

Florida state Democrats slammed Mr DeSantis after his disastrous Twitter Spaces campaign launch.

Representative Angie Nixon of Jacksonville said that Mr DeSantis is a “tantrum-throwing bully who threatens our ability to live our lives free from tyranny and oppression. He’s bought and paid for by the wealthy corporate elites while he sacrifices the health, safety, livelihoods, and futures of all Floridians”.

“Ron DeSantis has relentlessly attacked our freedoms, signing a near-total abortion ban, implementing permitless carry of hidden, loaded guns that make us less safe, and enforcing unconstitutional laws that are costing Floridians millions to defend in court,” she added. “This is a warning for all Americans: do not trust Ron DeSantis because he’ll always do what’s best for his own political career while the people get left further behind. And while Americans of all races, places, and backgrounds value our fundamental freedoms, Ron DeSantis will take all that we hold dear if it means taking another step up the political ladder.”

Leader Fentrice Driskell, a Tampa Democrat added: “How can Ron DeSantis expect to be our nation’s president after he’s failed Florida? He’s leaving behind a state where he stoked division, ignored families’ problems, and focused his energies on his own ambition. This man does not embody the characteristics we need in a president.”

“He’s a temperamental bully, who punches down on those who dare to disagree with him. Not surprisingly, America doesn’t seem to be buying what he’s selling,” she said. “His polling numbers have declined in recent weeks as people have gotten to know who he really is. They’ve seen him sign an extremist abortion ban, pushed a soft-on-crime permitless carry law, and picked a bizarre fight with Disney that hardly anyone cares about. Despite his announcement’s technical problems, today was historic: Ron DeSantis’ relentless ambition has pushed him to declare his intention to be the second-place finisher in the GOP primary for President of the United States of America.”

DeSantis’s glitchy 2024 launch shows he could be more dangerous than Trump

01:53 , Graeme Massie

Technical issues delay start of Florida governor’s launch event which quickly runs off-course.

DeSantis’s 2024 bid ridiculed as Musk’s Twitter event melts down

Laura Ingraham thinks DeSantis has a better chance against Joe Biden... Trump is not happy

01:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has lashed out at his longtime booster and Fox News host Laura Ingraham after she reported on polls suggesting the former president’s Republican rival would be a better match to take back the White House in 2024.

Read more:

Trump slams Fox News’ Laura Ingraham over ‘hit piece’ praising DeSantis

Trump dubs DeSantis 2024 launch ‘DISASTER’ and crack bizarre joke about ‘red button’ and ‘friend’ Kim Jong-un

01:30 , Graeme Massie

Donald Trump mocked the disastrous Twitter Spaces launch of Ron DeSantis’s bid for the White House as he made a bizarre joke about Kim Jong-un.

“Wow! The DeSanctus TWITTER launch is a DISASTER! His whole campaign will be a disaster. WATCH!” he wrote on Truth Social.

Read more:

Trump mocks disastrous DeSantis 2024 launch with bizarre joke about ‘red button’

Trump shares video mocking chaotic DeSantis launch

01:20 , Gustaf Kilander

Elon Musk complains about David Duke comparison during disastrous DeSantis 2024 launch event

01:12 , Graeme Massie

The Florida governor’s campaign got off to a rocky start on Wednesday.

Elon Musk complains about David Duke comparison during DeSantis 2024 launch event

Trump says DeSantis’s ‘whole campaign will be a disaster'

01:10 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Trump took aim at Mr DeSantis again on Wednesday night, writing on Truth Social: “Wow! The DeSanctus TWITTER launch is a DISASTER! His whole campaign will be a disaster. WATCH!”

“Tim Scott’s Presidential launch, even with the broken microphone (don’t pay the contractor, Tim!), was by far the best Presidential launch of the week. Robs was a catastrophe!” he added.

DeSantis campaign site logo mocked as he enters presidential race

01:00 , Oliver O'Connell

As he launches his presidential campaign, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is being mocked for the choice of logo greeting visitors to his official website as he files the paperwork to officially become a candidate taking on former President Donald Trump.

Before his event hosted on Twitter alongside the platform’s owner Elon Musk, his campaign site consisted of a simple image of an alligator in a swamp.

Here’s why it has amused fans of Mr Trump:

DeSantis campaign site logo mocked as he enters presidential race

‘Making this awkward mess your presidential announcement is truly a disaster'

Thursday 25 May 2023 00:55 , Gustaf Kilander

Former Obama official Tommy Vietor tweeted on Wednesday evening that “doing a Twitter spaces conversation with Elon at some point during your campaign is a good idea, even if its glitchy. Making this awkward mess your presidential announcement is truly a disaster”.

The right-wing account Catturd added: “I left the Space - It was so terrible and boring I couldn’t take it anymore. I’m going to go watch some paint dry so I can be more entertained.”

Scandal-plagued New York Republican George Santos said that “Ron just signaled he will abuse his executive powers to circumvent Congress if president to target government agencies he disagrees with. I’m a hard pass on another Obama style executive power abuser”.

Rep Matt Gaetz of Florida, a Trump supporter, simply wrote: “DeSedative.”

MSNBC host calls DeSantis Twitter Space ‘ASTOUNDINGLY HUMILIATING degree of incompetence'

Thursday 25 May 2023 00:50 , Gustaf Kilander

Earlier on Wednesday evening, Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo, tweeted that “the initial space topped out at over 600k but this one is stuck at 139k”.

The second space later hosted on the account of David Sacks reached more than 300,000 listeners, according to Twitter.

“BuzzFeed exploding the watermelon hit 820,000 concurrent viewers in 2016,” Tom Gara noted.

MSNBC host Chris Hayes said: “I’m sorry but this is an ASTOUNDINGLY HUMILIATING degree of incompetence. Unspinnable failure. Total and complete. Fully public.”

Anti-DeSantis protesters demonstrate outside Miami hotel amid meeting of governor’s donors

Thursday 25 May 2023 00:45 , Graeme Massie

Protesters demonstrated outside a luxury hotel in Miami as wealth donors to newly announced 2024 candidate Ron DeSantis met.

The protest assembled outside the city’s Four Seasons hotel hours before Mr DeSantis announced his bid for the presidency in a chaotic Twitter event with Elon Musk. Mr DeSantis was not actually present at the hotel, according to the Miami Herald.

Read more:

Anti-DeSantis protesters demonstrate outside luxury Miami hotel

VIDEO: Ron DeSantis releases presidential campaign ad

Thursday 25 May 2023 00:40 , Gustaf Kilander

After tech issues subside, DeSantis mocked for ‘annoying voice’

Thursday 25 May 2023 00:33 , Gustaf Kilander

After the tech issues plaguing the Twitter Spaces event finally faded, Mr DeSantis was mocked for his voice.

“Now that the space has worked long enough for DeSantis to deliver consecutive desentences, all I’m seeing are tweets about how annoying his voice is,” Bobby Lewis tweeted.

DNC member Thomas Kennedy added: “Holy s*** this is the worst campaign launch I have objectively ever seen. Embarrassing technical difficulties and consists of DeSantis rambling with his annoying nasally voice about the most niche hyper online right-wing issues that your average voter finds weird and alienating.”

Listen: Ron DeSantis's presidential launch suffers major technical issues

Thursday 25 May 2023 00:30 , Gustaf.Kilander

Donald Trump Jr says ‘DeSantis is making JEB! look high energy right now'

Thursday 25 May 2023 00:24 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump Jr echoed his father’s mockery of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush during the 2016 campaign, saying that “DeSantis is making JEB! look high energy right now”.

Memes began to be shared of the Twitter Spaces chaos, including an edited video of Mr Trump tackling Mr DeSantis to the ground.

AOC mocks amount of listeners to DeSantis Twitter Spaces event

Thursday 25 May 2023 00:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Ben Collins of NBC News tweeted on Wednesday night that “David Sacks just ludicrously made up that Ron DeSantis’ Twitter space was the largest group that ‘has ever met online.’ There are 100,000 people in this thing.”

“We had more people join when I played Among Us,” Ms Ocasio-Cortez wrote.

Fox news calls DeSantis announcement on Twitter ‘a disaster’ as Trump joins in mockery

Thursday 25 May 2023 00:08 , Gustaf Kilander

A Fox News push alert stated: “Much-hyped DeSantis announcement is a disaster on Twitter.”

Donald Trump joined in the mockery, writing: “‘Rob,’ My Red Button is bigger, better, stronger, and is working (TRUTH!), yours does not! (per my conversation with Kim Jung Un, of North Korea, soon to become my friend!).”

DeSantis campaign announcement devolves into ‘thanking Elon Musk and complaining about Twitter'

Wednesday 24 May 2023 23:59 , Gustaf Kilander

Amid tech issues and Ron DeSantis’s Twitter Spaces crashing, the Florida Governor’s campaign announcement devolved into “a bunch of people just thanking Elon Musk and complaining about Twitter,” Ben Collins of NBC News tweeted.

“I’ve never met Elon Musk, but I’m one of your biggest fans. I own a Tesla,” congressman Thomas Massie said during the audio-only event.

DeSantis pushes back on NAACP Florida warning

Wednesday 24 May 2023 23:46 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr DeSantis pushed back on the NAACP’s advisory warning travellers that Florida is “openly hostile” towards Black people, people of colour, and LGBT+ people due to his laws.

“We're the number one state for net in migration and have been every year since I've been governor,” he claimed. “We just kept the highest quarter for tourism in the history of the state of Florida. And our view is we want everybody to succeed regardless of their skin colour.”

“We don't divvy up people by race. At the same time, it is worth pointing out that we have in Florida more black-owned businesses than any state in the nation. And we've also had more African Americans lead state agencies under my administration than at any time in Florida history but with us, you know, they're there because of merit, not because we're trying to play identity politics,” he added.

“And if you want to look at education, Black students in Florida perform much higher than Black students in most other states. We ranked number three in fourth-grade reading and number two in fourth-grade math amongst our Black student population. And oh, by the way, the head of the NAACP lives in Florida, and a lot of their board members have put out on social media during my governorship, Florida vacations where they seem to be having an awfully good time,” he claimed.

Santos mocks DeSantis tech problems: ‘Twitter is crashing! LOL'

Wednesday 24 May 2023 23:38 , Gustaf Kilander

DeSantis appears certain of general election victory if he wins nomination

Wednesday 24 May 2023 23:37 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr DeSantis appeared to claim that if he wins the GOP nomination, his winning the general election was a certainty.

He told listeners to “set your clock” to “high noon” on 20 January 2025 for his inauguration.

The governor also slammed Mr Trump, saying that promises on policy are pointless if the Republicans keep losing.