25/05/2023, 12:54 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announces 2024 Republican bid after tech glitches derail plans

s derail plans — as it happened - ABC News

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announces 2024 Republican

bid after tech glitches derail plans — as it happened
By Jessica Riga

Posted Thu 25 May 2023 at 7:19am , updated Thu 25 May 2023 at 12:30pm

Ron DeSantis is a rising star of the American right. (Reuters: Marco Bello)

Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis has officially entered the 2024 presidential race after his formal
campaign announcement was marred by technical glitches on Twitter.

Look back on our blog to see how Thursday's events unfolded.

Key events

Thu 25 May DeSantis camp chalks up today as a win with '$1m raised in one hour'
2023 at
11:17am
Thu 25 May DeSantis to declare immigration a 'national emergency' if elected
2023 at
10:50am
Thu 25 May DeSantis 'rejects the politicisation of the weather' when asked about climate
2023 at change
10:33am

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25/05/2023, 12:54 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announces 2024 Republican bid after tech glitches derail plans — as it happened - ABC News

Show all key events

Live updates Latest Oldest

We'll wrap up our live coverage here

30m ago
Thu 25 May 2023 at 12:23pm
By Jessica Riga

Thanks for joining us today for what was a very eventful day in US politics.

To recap: Ron DeSantis has officially entered the 2024 presidential race, but his formal campaign
announcement was marred by technical glitches on Twitter.

You can look back on Thursday's developments below, or download the ABC News app and subscribe
to our range of news alerts for the latest news.

Ron DeSantis at an event earlier this week. (Reuters: Marco Bello)

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25/05/2023, 12:54 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announces 2024 Republican bid after tech glitches derail plans — as it happened - ABC News

More thoughts from you

39m ago
Thu 25 May 2023 at 12:14pm
By Jessica Riga

funniest thing since The Four Seasons Total Landscaping fiasco

- SW

I'm not sure whether to cackle or be horrified at the situation - Nick

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Just joining us? Here's what to know about DeSantis's rocky campaign launch

1h ago
Thu 25 May 2023 at 11:52am
By Jessica Riga

ABC North America correspondent Barbarba Miller says Ron DeSantis' much-hyped announcement on
Twitter was beset by technical problems.

Ron DeSantis' 2024 bid hits technical difficulties

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25/05/2023, 12:54 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announces 2024 Republican bid after tech glitches derail plans — as it happened - ABC News

Missed that disaster of a Twitter Spaces event?

1h ago
Thu 25 May 2023 at 11:45am
By Jessica Riga

Here's a montage of the many technical issues the plagued the discussion as more than 600,000
people "melted the servers," as Elon Musk said.

Ron DeSantis Twitter campaign launch marred by glitches

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The choice to use Twitter means America has no 'visuals' of DeSantis as president

1h ago
Thu 25 May 2023 at 11:33am
By Jessica Riga

Former US government official Kim Hoggard, who worked under Presidents Reagan and Bush, says
Ron DeSantis' campaign launch on Twitter came off as a "bland announcement".

"The motto for his campaign is 'the great American comback' but the comback was delayed by 30
minutes," she told ABC News.

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25/05/2023, 12:54 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announces 2024 Republican bid after tech glitches derail plans — as it happened - ABC News

"The other thing that struck me about this announcement for a presidential run is
that there were no visuals. This was like listening to a conservative radio
talkshow. 

"There's nothing for the American public, many of the conservatives who aren't on
Twitter to begin with, to see him with some presidential imagery around him.
There's no fireworks or American flags, ballons or crowds calling out his name. It
was a very bland announcement which failed to launch."

You can watch her full interview with ABC News below.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis launches 2024 bid

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DeSantis camp chalks up today as a win with '$1m raised in one hour'

1h ago KEY EVENT

Thu 25 May 2023 at 11:17am
By Jessica Riga

By North America bureau chief Jade Macmillan in Washington DC

Despite the early technical problems, Ron DeSantis' campaign is publicly chalking up today's launch
as a win.

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"There was so much enthusiasm for Governor DeSantis' vision for our Great American Comeback that
he literally busted up the internet," his press secretary Bryan Griffin tweeted.

"Washington is next. $1 million raised online in one hour… and counting!"

DeSantis used both the Twitter event and the Fox interview to try to set himself apart from the former
president, arguing he has a track record of winning elections and of delivering on conservative
priorities.

Polls suggest Trump is still the leading candidate for the Republican nomination though, and if they're
correct, DeSantis has a lot of catching up to do.

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Interestingly, DeSantis never mentioned Trump by name

1h ago
Thu 25 May 2023 at 11:11am
By Jessica Riga

For months, Ron DeSantis has been on the receiving end of a relentless barrage of attacks by Donald
Trump, so many were wondering if he'd finally push back.

But DeSantis declined to mention Trump by name during his Twitter event and an announcement of
his White House campaign earlier.

He only leveled two oblique critiques of Trump when he said "governing is not entertainment, not
about building a brand," and when he denounced Republicans' poor record in recent national
elections.

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Biden's camp move quickly to post DeSantis video

1h ago
Thu 25 May 2023 at 11:03am
By Jessica Riga

"No matter what happens, you can hear Ron DeSantis’ agenda loud and clear," US President Joe Biden
writes.

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DeSantis to declare immigration a 'national emergency' if elected

2h ago KEY EVENT

Thu 25 May 2023 at 10:50am
By Jessica Riga

The Fox News interview is over but I just want to quickly go back to this moment where Ron DeSantis
was asked about immigration.

"We will move on day one by declaring a national emergency," he said.

"We will construct a border wall. We will make sure we have remain-in-Mexico…
And we really need to hold the Mexican drug cartels accountable because they're
facilitating a lot of this migration."

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That's it for the Fox News interview

2h ago
Thu 25 May 2023 at 10:40am
By Jessica Riga

Trey Gowdy says he "knows DeSantis has a young family" so he's going to "send him home" and
promptly wraps up the interview.

The 35-minute Fox News interview was pretty wide ranging, with DeSantis asked about everything
from abortion to climate change, Russia's war in Ukraine and inflation.

DeSantis kept reverting to the same points, repeating his war on "woke" and that he'd make moves "on
day one."

He ended the interview by saying "no one is entitled to anything in this world."

Re a c t 7

Will DeSantis participate in all the debates?

2h ago

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Thu 25 May 2023 at 10:35am

By Jessica Riga

"I think we should debate, I think the people want to hear it," Ron DeSantis says.

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DeSantis 'rejects the politicisation of the weather' when asked about climate
change

2h ago KEY EVENT

Thu 25 May 2023 at 10:33am
By Jessica Riga

"The hurricanes have not increased in number," Ron DeSantis says.

"This is something that's a fact of life."

"I've already rejected the politicisation of the weather."

Re a c t 22

Speaking of day one, what's the first thing DeSantis would do if elected?

2h ago
Thu 25 May 2023 at 10:31am
By Jessica Riga

Ron DeSantis says "the border."

He then lists "ripping out Biden's anti-energy legislation" and "reconstitutionalising the administrative
state."

Re a c t 5

Interview moves to Russia's war in Ukraine

2h ago
Thu 25 May 2023 at 10:29am
By Jessica Riga

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When asked, as president, what he would do about Russia's war in Ukraine, Ron DeSantis instead
speaks about how "our military has become politicised."

"That's not the military I served in," he adds. "People don't want to join a woke military."

He says he's take care of that "on day one," which is the third or fourth time he's used that phrase in
this interview alone.

Re a c t 6

#DeSaster is now trending

2h ago KEY EVENT

Thu 25 May 2023 at 10:21am
By Jessica Riga

By North America bureau chief Jade Macmillan in Washington DC

This FOX News interview is already going much more smoothly for Ron DeSantis, who's tried to laugh
off the technical problems he faced earlier.

"We had a huge audience, it was the biggest it ever had," he told former Republican congressman Trey
Gowdy.

"It did break the Twitter space, and so we're really excited about the enthusiasm."

The governor has criticised president Joe Biden and repeated his claim that he's guaranteed of
winning the general election if he's nominated as the Republican candidate.

Social media hasn't let the Twitter launch go yet, though – the hashtag #DeSaster is now trending.

Re a c t 1

DeSantis takes first swipe at media

2h ago
Thu 25 May 2023 at 10:20am
By Jessica Riga

We're back from the break, and Ron DeSantis is asked if he would continue to keep Chris Wray as the
Director of the FBI if he became president.

DeSantis says no, doubling down and saying "he'd be gone day 1."

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"You need someone with a backbone," he adds.

He then takes his first swipe of the interview at the media, calling out The Wall Street Journal and the
New York Times specifically, among others.

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Anti-DeSantis protesters continue to gather outside Four Seasons hotel

2h ago
Thu 25 May 2023 at 10:15am
By Jessica Riga

Re a c t 3

And we've reached our first commercial break

2h ago
Thu 25 May 2023 at 10:13am
By Jessica Riga

The Fox News interview is going much better then the Twitter Spaces discussion, but that's not a
tough ask.

Re a c t 5

DeSantis asked his role in culture wars

2h ago
Thu 25 May 2023 at 10:09am
By Jessica Riga

"At the end of the day it's an attack on truth," DeSantis says, saying the only response is to "launch an
attack on woke."

Re a c t 7

DeSantis asked about inflation

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2h ago
Thu 25 May 2023 at 10:08am
By Jessica Riga

It's only the second question and Fox News is already talking about 'kitchen table issues,' something
the Twitter Spaces interview struggled to grasp.

When asked about inflation, DeSantis blames Biden, saying: "Of course the overspending is driving
inflation."

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S HOW MOR E P OS TS

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