He descends into the arena. Republican Ron DeSantis filed, Wednesday, May 24, with the American electoral authorities his candidacy for the presidential election of 2024. The Governor of Florida formalized this candidacy in a document sent to the Federal Election Commission, a few hours before a planned exchange with Elon Musk on Twitter, kicking off a battle against Donald Trump which promises to be extremely acrimonious.
The conversation between the governor of Florida and the boss of the social network is scheduled for 6 p.m. (midnight Paris time), and will be moderated by Republican businessman David Sacks. The candidacy of Ron DeSantis, 44, is eagerly awaited by Republicans seeking an alternative to the 76-year-old former US president, whose ideas he shares, but not his excesses. The choice of this format for a campaign launch is however atypical.
“This is the first time that we will experience something like this on a social network”welcomed Elon Musk, promising “questions answered in real time, and not prepared”. This exchange should not however be perceived as sponsorship, pleaded the billionaire with ambiguous political positioning. The governor of Florida is seen as Donald Trump’s main rival for the Republican nomination. The winner of these primaries will face the candidate chosen by the Democratic Party in November 2024 – most likely Joe Biden.
Against “good thinking”
A former naval officer, Ron DeSantis gained popularity by multiplying his ultra-conservative outbursts on education or immigration. In the name of a battle against the supposed “well-meaning”he transformed his state into a laboratory of conservative ideas.
His path to the White House has many obstacles. The governor, in whom many conservatives had placed their hopes for the presidential election after his triumphant re-election in Florida in November 2022, is now seriously behind Donald Trump – officially a candidate since November 16, 2022 – according to numerous opinion polls . Polls that must be taken with tweezers, as the ballot is still far away, but that Donald Trump happily shares on his network, Truth Social.