As expected, Ron DeSandis confirmed his candidacy for the White House on Wednesday, but the launch of the campaign of his opponent Donald Trump in the internal process of the Republican Party turned into a fiasco due to several technical problems.

The candidacy of the governor of Florida was eagerly awaited by many supporters of the American right to give them an alternative to the former president, with whom Mr. DeSandis has a lot in common politically and ideologically, without, however, the extremes and excesses of the tycoon.

It was made official yesterday afternoon.

In a video streamed live on Twitter, the 44-year-old politician seen as the New York billionaire’s main rival promised to make America’s “great comeback” a reality. An expression reminiscent of Mr. Trump’s victorious campaign in 2016, with the central slogan “Make America Great Again.”

The governor then tried to elaborate on his positions by talking to Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter. But a series of technical problems prevented the smooth transmission of the broadcast heard by hundreds of thousands.

“This link is working”

“Thank you for your patience”, “your microphone is not open”… the head of Twitter struggled to manage the chaos.

The governor wanted to lay out his vision for the country, based on the example of Florida, which he transformed in recent years into a laboratory of ultraconservative ideas.

“I am committed to being an energetic leader who will tackle the important issues,” he promised, sticking to the immigration issue.

But the messages it wanted to convey were mired in a series of technical problems, likely much to the delight of Donald Trump.

“Technical problems. Awkward silences. A complete failure,” praised a representative of the former president.

The winner of the Republican caucus will face the nominee of the Democrats in November 2024 — barring shocking odds, President Joe Biden.

The octogenarian head of state in turn took a playful swipe at Mr. DeSandis’ campaign launch: “This link is working,” the presidential candidate quipped on Twitter, referring to the website through which he is raising funds for his own campaign.

Against ideological “indoctrination”

A former Navy officer, Mr. DeSandis has boosted his popularity with measures that appeal to the reflexes of ultraconservative voters, especially on immigration and above all in the area of ​​education, in the name of fighting the supposed ideological “indoctrination” of young people. .

But his path to the White House is strewn with ambushes.

Several supporters of the American right had pinned their hopes on his candidacy following his triumphant re-election to the office of Florida governor in November 2022, when Donald Trump appeared to be suffering a loss of support. But he is now far behind the former president, according to opinion polls.

Of course, these investigations should be treated rather cautiously, as the election still seems far away, but of course that does not stop Donald Trump from sharing them with glee through the social networking site he has created, Truth Social.

The biggest flaw of the right-wing Florida politician, father of three: He’s not particularly charismatic, which is pointed out on all sides. And of course Mr. Trump wouldn’t like it, he attacks him by pointing out just that.

A million in an hour

The feud between the two politicians, now rivals, began long before the Florida governor even manifested himself, with harsh statements and competitive appearances.

Despite his many headaches with justice, Mr. Trump threw himself wholeheartedly into his third campaign for the White House, mobilizing his base, which remains largely loyal to him.

In this battle, Mr. DeSandis will need to raise large sums of money from supporters and sponsors, a huge “war chest,” as the campaign cliché goes.

His team claimed to have raised a million dollars in just the first hour of his campaign.

Ron DeSandis, who was elected governor of Florida in 2018 with the warm support of… Donald Trump, is casting himself as the epitome of the GOP’s new guard.

Other candidates for the Republican nomination who have come forward (Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Issa Hutchinson) rarely exceed 5% of the vote intention for now.