Ron DeSantis has spent months preparing the ground for his White House bid.
Washington:
Republican Ron DeSantis announced his hotly-anticipated challenge to Donald Trump for the party’s 2024 White House nomination on Wednesday, citing his ultra-conservative record as governor of Florida as a blueprint for the nation.
A source familiar with the plans told AFP that DeSantis was to launch his presidential bid during a live Twitter event with the platform’s business owner Elon Musk.
“I’ll be interviewing Ron DeSantis and he has a lot to announce,” Musk confirmed on Tuesday, promising the event at 6 p.m. (2200 GMT) on Twitter Space will be accompanied by “real-time questions and answers.”
“It’s going to be live. Let it rip,” Musk told a Wall Street Journal conference.
Long seen as the most credible challenger to the twice-impeached Trump, DeSantis has used his platform to burnish his conservative credentials as Florida’s chief executive, adding 80 new ones this spring. State laws were signed, many targeting “awareness” in schools and other public places. institutions.
These include a ban on discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in schools, a freeze on funding for efforts to promote diversity and inclusion at public universities, and one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.
But the 44-year-old’s official debut coincided with a drop in his ratings despite a right-wing legislative victory in his state.
Hailed as “DeFUTURE” by The New York Post after a landslide last November, DeSantis has tamped down expectations for a barnstorming campaign in the Oval Office in recent months.
Several policy missteps – both domestically and on the international stage – have prompted unease about his readiness to take on former President Trump, with donors worrying he may have peaked too soon.
He faces the daunting task of closing a massive polling gap that Trump posting leads by close to 40 percentage points, despite being indicted on felony financial charges and found liable for sexual assault in a New York civil lawsuit.
– ‘Positive Choice’ –
But DeSantis goes into the campaign chasing Trump with a large cash advantage over his rivals — a war chest potentially in excess of $100 million — and buoyed by strong turnout at a series of recent campaign events.
Never Back Down, a super PAC that has served as the governor’s de facto campaign arm before making the announcement, has a ground operation in most of the early enrolling states and plans to expand.
Famously allergic to the mainstream media, DeSantis was reaching out to the traditional national press and local reporters at campaign stops — though he would sidestep the press by making his big announcement on social media with Musk.
Behind the scenes, the Trump and DeSantis camps have been pushing to garner political support from state lawmakers, while nationally, Florida’s congressional delegation has split heavily for Trump.
DeSantis has largely avoided retaliating amid Trump’s almost daily barrage of attacks on his record, character and fitness for office, making it clear that, for now at least, he remains one of the former president’s most fervent supporters. Would like to avoid a bitter fight with.
Trump supporters say DeSantis has also been criticized for lacking the personal touch, one of the former president’s greatest assets.
But the former Navy officer and congressman has been redoubled his efforts to stay behind recently, speaking to press meat, signing autographs and getting his picture taken with supporters.
The father of three is also sharing the spotlight with his wife, Casey DeSantis, who is positioned to shed her husband’s aloof image by talking up his qualities as a family man.
DeSantis has criss-crossed the country to lay the groundwork for his White House bid, promoting his memoir, “The Courage to Be Free,” and is seen as influential in Republican primary contests including Iowa, New Has spent months making several stops in the States. Hampshire and South Carolina.
“If we make 2024 a referendum on Joe Biden and his failures and we provide a positive alternative to the future of this country, Republicans will win across the board,” DeSantis said this month during a visit to Sioux Center, Iowa. said during
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