Ron DeSantis’s 2024 campaign paved the way for more ridicule to be heaped upon the Florida governor after his official Twitter Spaces presidential announcement was marred by glitches.
The “DeSantis War Room” Twitter account released a stylised advertisement of over three minutes that was roundly mocked for heavily featuring Elon Musk, whose platform was used for the Republican’s long-awaited campaign announcement.
“I am running for president of the United States to lead our great American comeback,” the governor could be heard saying.
But the video was interspersed with archive footage of the Twitter chief in various events as well as a photo of Mr Musk when he was younger, apart from Mr DeSantis himself.
The footage strangely showed Mr Musk dancing around, laughing and even using a flamethrower.
The tweet followed an embarrassing start to his hyped-up campaign announcement that was overrun by technical glitches like long silences, a persistent echo and even Mr DeSantis disappearing from the event briefly.
The choice to kick off his campaign through Twitter appeared to be part of a campaign strategy to largely ignore traditional media outlets and instead court supporters through newer, online social media platforms.
Mr DeSantis, soon after, jumped on to a slightly more technically-sound interview on Fox News.
The long campaign video, as well as the announcement, appeared to show Mr DeSantis trying to gain political leverage from Mr Musk’s fan following, as the tech mogul gained popularity among conservatives.
The campaign video, however, left several users confused as they questioned whether Mr Musk was controlling Mr DeSantis or if would be the Florida governor’s running mate.
“I’m sorry, I’m confused. What is going on here. Is Elon the running mate? And why is Elon seen dancing in a tux at some laser show while RDS is talking about Fentanyl poisoning in America?” asked user Sohrab Ahmari.
“Why is there so much footage of Elon Musk in this video?” questioned another.
“Who is running? Elon or Ron?” another user questioned.
“Is Elon running you or himself or both for president?” asked another.
In the video, the Florida governor rallied against the Joe Biden government, criticising it for the “southern border collapse”, drugs, and support to what he called the “woke mob”.
Before his Twitter Spaces announcement, Mr DeSantis released a 30-second teaser for the imminent launch of his bid to seek the Republican Party’s presidential nomination.
But that video was mocked as well for a voiceover that many felt was done in a British accent.
Mr DeSantis’s official entrance into the presidential race has been eagerly anticipated for months, with some Republicans viewing him as the candidate best positioned to defeat his leading rival Donald Trump who gleefully mocked “the DeSanctus TWITTER launch” as “a DISASTER”.
