DeSantis’ 2024 Announcement Delayed By Twitter Glitches

Forbes Business Breaking DeSantis’ 2024 Announcement Delayed By Twitter Glitches Sara Dorn Forbes Staff Politics Following May 24, 2023, 06:28pm EDT | Press play to listen to this article! Got it! Updated May 24, 2023, 07:35pm EDT Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign announcement was plagued by malfunctions on Twitter Spaces Wednesday that prevented him from speaking on the platform for more than 20 minutes—a rocky start to DeSantis’ 2024 bid that comes as he trails former President Donald Trump by more than 30 points in early polls. Florida Governor and 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis (Photo by Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty .

. . [+] Images) Getty Images Key Facts DeSantis was expected to announce his presidential bid on Twitter Spaces at 6 p.

m. , but the conversation, hosted by tech entrepreneur and DeSantis supporter David Sacks on Twitter Spaces, got off to a glitchy start with various stops and fits and echoes in the audio recording. After Sacks introduced Musk and briefly spoke about how he came to support DeSantis over the governor’s less restrictive Covid-19 policies, the audio stopped less than five minutes into the program.

“I think we’ve got,” Musk chuckled,” just a massive number of people online, so servers are straining somewhat. ” More than 20 minutes later, DeSantis, Sacks and Musk switched to a new Twitter Spaces stream , where DeSantis began answering questions about tech industry policies and the NAACP’s recent advisory for Black travelers to avoid Florida. The interview comes after DeSantis filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission earlier Wednesday declaring his candidacy.

He also announced his candidacy in a video where he touted Florida’s record of putting “facts over fear, education over indoctrination, law and order over rioting and disorder” and declared “I’m running for president to lead our great American comeback. ” Big Number 290,000. That’s how many Twitter users were tuning in when the hour-long conversation wrapped.

Crucial Quote “We started with some technical issues because of the sheer scale, unprecedented nature of what we’re doing, but it’s not how you started, how you finish and I think that’s finished really strong,” Sacks said as the program ended. “It’s going to be imperfect, because it’s not scripted. ” Contra President Joe Biden taunted the delayed DeSantis announcement by tweeting a link to donate to his re-election campaign.

“This link works,” he wrote. The Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. super PAC also seized on what spokesperson Karoline Leavitt called a “botched campaign announcement,” calling it “another example of why he is just not ready for the job” in a tweet .

Key Background On Twitter’s part, the decision to announce a presidential run on the platform aligns with Musk’s shift to the right and adds to speculation that he will endorse DeSantis. Still, Musk reportedly said Tuesday he doesn’t plan to support any particular candidate and instead hopes to make Twitter a public forum of sorts during the upcoming election cycle. Musk purchased Twitter at a $44 billion valuation last year, promising in part to reverse moderation policies he viewed as politically biased—though he has faced criticism for loosening rules against false information and laying off many of the company’s staff.

Further Reading DeSantis Formally Enters 2024 Presidential Race (Forbes) DeSantis Launching Presidential Run Wednesday In Event With Elon Musk (Forbes) Follow me on Twitter . Send me a secure tip . Sara Dorn Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.