Florida Governor Ron DeSantis officially launches his US presidential campaign
May 25, 2023
Florida [US], May 25 : Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Thursday officially launched his United States presidential campaign in a rocky, glitch-filled broadcast over Twitter, Al Jazeera reported.
DeSantis on Thursday tweeted: "I'm running for president to lead our Great American Comeback."
DeSantis in his campaign said: "We need the courage to lead, and we must have the strength to win."
"If you nominate me, you can set your clock to January 20th, 2025, at high noon because on the west side of the US Capitol, I will be taking the oath of office as the 47th president," he said.
The broadcast, which was hosted by Twitter CEO Elon Musk and right-wing entrepreneur David Sacks, initially faltered multiple times, Al Jazeera reported.
"It just keeps crashing, huh?" someone was heard asking early on. The hosts later credited the technical difficulties to "scaling issues".
"Just a massive number of people online," one of the hosts can be heard saying. "So servers are straining somewhat."
Earlier, DeSantis filed paperwork with federal election authorities in the United States to run for president. With this, he throws his hat in the ring for the 2024 Republican nomination, according to Al Jazeera.
As per Al Jazeera, the filing with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday came ahead of an expected formal announcement he is set to make on Twitter later in the day.
DeSantis has for months been seen as the most serious challenger to former President Donald Trump who is also seeking to become the Republican nominee to take on Democratic President Joe Biden next year.
Other Republican candidates include Senator Tim Scott, former envoy to the United Nations Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who served under Trump is also likely to launch a presidential campaign.
DeSantis was during his first gubernatorial campaign in 2018 endorsed by Trump, but he has since risen to national prominence in conservative circles as he champions right-wing policies in Florida.
Recent public opinion polls show DeSantis trailing Trump by a wide margin in a hypothetical primary showdown. But with the former president facing legal trouble, including criminal charges in New York, the Florida governor will be hoping to close the gap in the coming months, according to Al Jazeera.
The first Republican primaries will take place in Iowa early in 2024.
Trump has been regularly attacking DeSantis and touting his poll numbers on his Truth Social account. But so far, the Florida Governor has largely ignored the criticism from the former president.
