Ron DeSantis latest: Florida governor’s conversation with Elon Musk hampered by technical problems

The first, and possibly last, presidential campaign launch on Twitter Spaces has now ended.

Beset by technical issues, the event with Elon Musk eventually got going and Ron DeSantis outlined his strategy for winning the White House: taking on the “woke mob”, protecting America’s borders, and hitting Joe Biden on the economy.

Mr Musk blamed the high number of people trying to listen to the stream as the reason for its technical problems – almost as if he was surprised that hundred of thousands of people would want to hear from a man running for president of the United States.

We shan’t reveal the number of people who tuned in for our live blog tonight – but you’ll notice that there were no such technical hiccups from The Telegraph servers, thank you very much. Our servers run on solid British steel and honey and whatever the hell servers are made of – and they will keep on chugging, with all the best reaction and analysis from tonight’s debate still to come. 

Thank you for joining us!

Fox News, which gave Ron DeSantis a generous amount of airtime over the last few months but was spurned for his 2024 launch, has been merciless in its coverage of the debacle, Rozina Sabur writes.

“Much-hyped Ron DeSantis presidential announcement a disaster on Twitter,” its headline declared online.

A pop-up banner read: “PROGRAMMING ALERT: Want to actually see and hear Ron DeSantis? Tune into Fox News at 8 pm ET”.

Mr DeSantis is being interviewed by former Republican congressman-turned TV anchor Trey Gowdy.

It will be a far more traditional introduction to the presidential campaign, just minutes after Mr DeSantis railed against the evils of “legacy media” on Twitter with Elon Musk.

They’re wrapping up now and Ron DeSantis immediately jumps in: “We should do it again!”

Surely there are better ways to get your message out, Ron. How about yelling it into a bin bag? 

In his defence, by the end nearly half a million people had tuned in to the stream.

Elon Musk thanks Mr DeSantis for appearing and stresses how important it is for people to hear directly from candidates, saluting an “historic event” that he says contributes to the “national dialogue”.

Ron DeSantis’s team are trying to put a brave face on the massive technical issues that have hampered his campaign launch.

“It seems we broke the internet with so much excitement…” his campaign account tweeted.

Gavin Newsom, the Democrat governor of California who has frequently scrapped with Mr DeSantis – and has been tipped for his own White House run – has jumped on the hiccups:

The Trump campaign has capitalised on the technical disaster in a video mocking the DeSantis campaign launch, Susie Coen writes.

It shows a clip of the former president in front of a crowd of fans to the backing song of “I’m proud to be an American” with the banner “awaiting President Trump”.

This is cut between a screenshot of Elon Musk’s Twitter Space with the text “preparing to launch…” and the accompanying feedback noise.

Choosing to launch on Twitter was an unorthodox choice that suggested a no-holds-barred, unchoreographed event, possibly intended to suggest Mr DeSantis’ agility as a candidate, Rozina Sabur writes.

But for much of his opening the Florida governor appeared to be reading from prepared remarks.  

“More like Yawn DeSantis,” tweeted conservative activist Jack Posobiec. 

Now DeSantis gets into gear, tackling his favourite topic: Disney.

The Florida governor and the entertainment giant have been at loggerheads since the company opposed a law prohibiting schools from discussing certain issues relating to sexuality and gender issues with young children in Florida classrooms – the so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.

He claims the company is suing because they had their “special privileges” removed and he thinks they should withdraw the lawsuit.

In a swipe against his rivals, he said the Republicans taking Disney’s side are “corporate bidders”.

Mr DeSantis says Disney has “really been outed as trying to inject matters of sex in the programming for the youth”.

The hashtag #DeSaster is being circulated by Mr Trump’s inner circle. The former president’s eldest son, Donald Jr, was among the first to share it on Twitter, Rozina Sabur writes.

Chris LaCivita, one of the architects of Mr Trump’s 2024 campaign, called the event “a clown show”.

A veteran of political campaigns, Mr LaCivita added it was “criminal for a campaign”.

Ron DeSantis now takes on the elites who, during Covid, wanted “rolling lockdowns” that he says Florida was one of the few states to push back on.

He calls for a “major overhaul of the whole enchilada with respect to public health in his country”.

DeSantis trumpets his forthcoming bill of rights in Florida that he says will prevent government staff colluding with agencies that quash free speech, addressing his criticism towards public health organisations that wanted face masks and social distancing.

The mic passes back to Elon Musk who accuses The Atlantic of running a piece that “basically” claims anyone listening to the Twitter Space with Ron DeSantis today is something akin to a Nazi.

DeSantis picks up on this, attacking “clustered elites” who do not like to be challenged.

Mr DeSantis criticises the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), who last week issued a travel advisory warning people of colour and the LGBT community against travel to Florida.

Mr DeSantis says the call was a “total farce” and a “political stunt” which saw left-wing groups “colluding with legacy media”.

DeSantis continues: “Biden’s opened the southern border and allowed massive amounts of drugs to pour into the country”.

He doubles down on his position on fighting the “war on woke”.

“We will never surrender to the woke mob and we will leave the woke mob in the dustbin”.

He calls on the Republican Party to end its “culture of losing”.

“There is no substitute for victory,” he says. “We must end the culture of losing that has infected the Republican Party in recent years.

“The tired dogmas of the past are inadequate for a vibrant future. We must look forward, not backwards.”

There were gleeful chuckles at Trump HQ in Mar-a-Lago as Mr DeSantis’ much-hyped launch failed to take off, Rozina Sabur writes.

Donald Trump’s close aides were working to quickly pump out social media videos to fill the void, as hundreds of thousands who had tuned in to listen to the Florida governor were met with silence.

Asked if they thought Mr DeSantis’ launch had been a car crash, one Trump aide texted: “Seems that way, right?” 

They got it working! Ron DeSantis is finally announcing his campaign with an introductory speech attacking the “woke mob” and the “woke mind virus”.

“American decline is not inevitable – it is a choice”, Mr DeSantis says. “We must restore sanity to our nation.”

In a fast-paced speech he hit out at the “southern border collapse”, drug cartels, and Biden’s “inflationary policies”.

You can listen here:

If you’re just joining us, Ron DeSantis’s campaign launch has gone a bit like setting fire to a cardboard box and throwing it off a cliff.

The audio feed for his Twitter Space with Elon Musk has failed due to server issues, Mr Musk said, and so far we are none the wiser as to whether the conversation is going ahead or not. 

In fact, the audio feed appears to have ended but is still hosted at the same link on Twitter. You can listen back to the full 20 minutes of experimental John-Cage-esque stop-start political farce here:

Elon Musk has been cut off multiple times now as the audio feed keeps dropping.

It’s not a textbook campaign launch. 

Goodness knows what Ron DeSantis is thinking right now. Perhaps that it might be time in 2024 for a nice big slice of Silicon Valley regulation?

Joe Biden’s team have got their technical ducks in a row, though, and have jumped all over it:

David Sacks welcomes listeners to Twitter HQ here in sunny San Francisco and introduces Elon Musk and Ron DeSant– well…. he started, but now the feed has dropped.

We’ve got so many people in the Space that we’re “melting the servers”, Mr Sacks says.

Mr Musk introduces the Florida governor with a short bit about how Mr DeSantis has pushed back against government overreach and attacks on free speech.

And then it’s cut out again… Technology, lads. It’s the future.

Ron DeSantis has dropped his official campaign video on Twitter. 

While we wait for the Space to launch – there appear to be some delays – watch Mr DeSantis announce the “great American comeback”:

Twitter Spaces is a feature on the social media platform where users can have live audio conversations, Susie Coen writes.

Any user with 600 or more followers can host a Space, which facilitates up to 13 people speaking at any given time, including the host and two co-hosts. Spaces are public and can be accessed by anyone.

Mr Musk has previously appeared on Spaces to discuss Twitter’s performance, his plans for electric vehicle maker Tesla and the global economy.

The billionaire and proponent of free speech previously said he wants Twitter to become “somewhat of a town square.”

He has just shared the link for tonight’s Space:

Outspoken venture capitalist David Sacks is both a member of Elon Musk’s inner circle and a supporter of Ron DeSantis, Susie Coen writes.

Like his friend Mr Musk, the 50-year-old is a member of the so-called “PayPal Mafia”, a group of former employees and founders of the firm who went on to establish successful tech ventures.

Mr Sacks has supported Mr DeSantis on Fox News, Twitter and by donating to his campaign. The Cape Town-born entrepreneur, who moved to Tennessee as a child, has also donated to political campaigns for Republican JD Vance.

Mr Sacks founded software firm Yammer in 2008, which was acquired by Microsoft for $1.2billion in 2012.

The entrepreneur has a history investing in major companies from Facebook to Airbnb. He co-founded venture capital firm Craft Ventures in 2017.

A strong-believer in free speech, Mr Sacks has previously criticised social media platforms for banning politicians. He supported Tucker Carlson after he was fired from Fox News. He is a critic of US involvement in Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Mr Sacks also co-hosts the All-In podcast with “industry veterans, degenerate gamblers and besties” Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis and David Friedberg.

Ron DeSantis will have to win at least one of Iowa or New Hampshire, the first two states to vote in the Republican nomination contest, if he is to overhaul Donald Trump.

Mr Trump’s lead has grown in polls in recent weeks and the Florida governor faces a daunting, although achievable, task.

“He’s got to win Iowa. Period,” said Larry Sabato, Director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “If he wins Iowa, and not New Hampshire, he’s still got a reasonable chance to upend Trump. Winning both Iowa and New Hampshire would be an earthquake.”

Mr DeSantis is believed to have moved forward his timeline for entering the race, as some donors were starting to get jittery about the polls.

Supporters of Ron DeSantis have described his wife, Casey DeSantis, as a “huge asset” and plan to deploy her throughout his 2024 presidential campaign, Rozina Sabur writes.

With an easy charm and a poise learned from her years as a local TV anchor, Mrs DeSantis can be the softer side of the presidential hopeful: a crucial counterbalance to the much-discussed stiff and awkward demeanour of Mr DeSantis.

“She’s extremely intelligent and insightful, as well as being warm and thoughtful at the same time,” Dan Eberhart, a major DeSantis donor, told the Telegraph. “She’s really going to enhance Governor DeSantis’s candidacy.”

To underscore her starring role in his bid, it was Mrs DeSantis’ Twitter account – not her husband’s – that trailed his 2024 campaign launch with a teaser clip on Tuesday night.

But critics say the couple’s mistrust of outside strategists, and her influence over policy decisions have led them to careless, and avoidable, early missteps.

Read more: Why Casey DeSantis may be a double-edged sword in her husband’s battle for the White House

Other than that Donald Trump chap – you might have heard of him – Ron DeSantis faces a number of high-profile candidates in a tough fight for the Republican nomination.

In decreasing order of knowing who on earth they are… Nikki Haley, the former UN ambassador, Tim Scott, the South Carolina senator, Asa Hutchinson, the former Arkansas governor, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy have all entered the race for the Republican nod.

Mr DeSantis may also have to face other Republican names, such as Ted Cruz, Mike Pence and popular Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin.

Read more: From Trump to DeSantis to Haley: Republican runners and riders for the 2024 US presidential election

It’s the first day of a long trek up the mountain for Ron DeSantis, if the polls are anything to go by.

Mr DeSantis is a distant second to Donald Trump, who is still the overwhelming favourite to be the Republican nominee for president in 2024.

According to the polling website FiveThirtyEight, national averages have Mr Trump’s lead up from 16 points in early March to 33 points on Wednesday.

But one DeSantis insider told The Telegraph today: “The only poll that matters is on election day.”

His camp are encouraging other Republican rivals to step aside and back him in a bid to prevent the kind of split-vote crowded field that allowed Mr Trump to win in 2016.

Ron DeSantis is one of the most recognised faces in the Republican Party. He has officially launched his bid for the White House in 2024. But how much do we know about him?

Here’s a quick tale of the tape:

Name: Ron DeSantis (not Ron DeSanctimonious, as Donald Trump calls him, or Ron DeSandwich which is also funny)

Age: 44

Partner: Casey DeSantis

From: Dunedin, Florida

Current job: Governor of Florida

Previous jobs: Navy Lieutenant, lawyer

Likes: Low taxes, entrepreneurs, being tough on crime, tucking a collared shirt into jeans

Dislikes: “Woke”, abortion, drag queens, Disney, public libraries

Jamie Johnson, our US Correspondent, takes a close look at who Ron DeSantis is, and what he stands for:

Good evening everyone. Happy Ron Day! 

Ron DeSantis has formally announced his bid for President of the United States, submitting his paperwork to run for the Republican nomination in 2024.

Florida’s governor is later this evening drawing back the curtain on his campaign in a chat with Elon Musk. We will be covering their chat and all the reaction.

Mr DeSantis’s rival for the Republican nomination, a New York businessman called Donald Trump, has lashed out at the announcement, branding his former mentee “disloyal” and saying he “desperately needs a personality transplant”. 

Read more: Ron DeSantis launches 2024 election campaign as Donald Trump brands him ‘disloyal’