He descends into the arena: Republican Ron DeSantis filed his formal presidential candidacy for 2024 on Wednesday, kicking off a battle against Donald Trump, which promises to be extremely acrimonious. The governor of Florida formalized this candidacy a few hours before a planned exchange with Elon Musk on Twitter. 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 the excesses. The choice of this exchange with the boss of Twitter, moderated by Republican businessman David Sacks, for a campaign launch is however atypical.
Against “well-thinking”
“This is the first time that we are going to experience something like this on a social network”, welcomed Elon Musk, promising “questions answered in real time, and not prepared in advance”. 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, most likely Joe Biden, in November 2024.
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 “good-thinking”, he transformed his state into a laboratory of conservative ideas. But his path to the White House is strewn with pitfalls. 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, official candidate since November 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. The main handicap of the conservative, father of three children: a lack of charisma, pointed out from all sides. And on which the Trump camp does not hesitate to attack it. “Announcing his candidacy on Twitter is perfect for DeSantis. That way he doesn’t need to interact with anyone,” quipped one of the former president’s advisers to AFP.
“Personality Transplant”
Hostilities are launched. The invectives between the two men also began long before the governor of Florida launched out, with acid declarations and by interposed meetings. “DeSantis desperately needs a personality transplant,” Donald Trump mocked Wednesday morning. Surrounded by judicial investigations, the former president threw himself headlong into his third race for the White House, mobilizing his base, which has largely remained loyal to him. In this face-to-face with Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis will still be able to rely on an imposing war chest of 110 million dollars. He intends to draw on these funds to try to catch up by flooding the country with advertising spots.
In a recent video from his political action committee, a man puts a “DeSantis president” sticker to cover a “Trump 2016” on a car. This is a summary of the message that the governor wants to send to voters: elected to head Florida in 2018, with the support of … Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis claims to embody the new guard. The other declared Republican candidates – Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Asa Hutchinson – rarely exceed 5% of voting intentions for the moment.