This is a totally atypical campaign launch. Republican Ron DeSantis will enter the race for the White House on Wednesday via an exchange on Twitter with Elon Musk, kicking off a battle against Donald Trump which promises to be extremely acrimonious. The conversation between the governor of Florida and the boss of the social network is scheduled for 6 p.m. Washington time (2200 GMT), and will be moderated by Republican businessman David Sacks. The candidacy of Ron DeSantis is eagerly awaited by Republicans seeking an alternative to the 76-year-old former US president, whose ideas he shares, but not the excesses.
“This is the first time that we are going to experience something like this on a social network”, welcomed Elon Musk, promising “real-time, unscripted questions and answers”. Even if this exchange should not be perceived as sponsorship, argued the billionaire, Elon Musk finds himself in the Republican’s “antiwoke” culture war.
The 44-year-old governor of Florida is seen as Donald Trump’s main rival for the Republican nomination. The winner of these primaries will face in November 2024 the candidate chosen by the Democratic Party – most likely Joe Biden.
A lack of charisma
Ron DeSantis gained popularity by multiplying the ultra-conservative blows on education or immigration. In the name of a battle against the supposed “good-thinking”, he transformed his state into a laboratory of conservative ideas. But his path to the White House is strewn with pitfalls.
The governor, in whom many conservatives had placed their hopes for the presidential election after his triumphant re-election in Florida in November 2022, is seriously behind Donald Trump – official candidate since November 16, 2022 – according to numerous opinion polls.
Polls that must be taken with tweezers, as the ballot is still far away, but that Donald Trump hastened to share on his social network on Tuesday, from the first rumors of Ron DeSantis’ announcement.
The main handicap of this father of three children: a lack of charisma, pointed out from all sides. And on which the Trump camp does not hesitate to attack it. “Announcing his candidacy on Twitter is perfect for DeSantis. That way he doesn’t need to interact with anyone,” quipped one of Donald Trump’s advisers to AFP.
An important war chest
The invectives between the two men also began long before the governor of Florida officially descended into the arena, with acid statements and meetings interposed. “The problem with DeSantis is that he would need to have a personality transplant,” Donald Trump recently mocked on his network, Truth Social.
Surrounded by judicial inquiries, Donald Trump threw himself headlong into his second race for the White House, mobilizing his base, which has largely remained loyal to him. In this face-to-face with Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis will still be able to rely on an imposing war chest of 110 million dollars.
He intends to draw on these funds to try to catch up by flooding the country with advertising spots. In a recent video from his political action committee, a man puts a “DeSantis president” sticker to cover a “Trump 2016” on a car. This is a summary of the message that the governor wants to send to voters: elected to head Florida in 2018, with the support of… Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis claims to embody the new guard.
The other declared Republican candidates – Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Asa Hutchinson – for the moment rarely exceed 5% of voting intentions.