Ron DeSantis makes case to be Trump’s successor atop GOP with 2024 bid

The Florida Governor has launched his 2024 presidential bid, teeing up a bitter battle with Donald Trump, but not before a very messy start | WATCH

A screen grab of Ron DeSantis’ Twitter account shows the Florida Governor announcing his run for president. Picture: AFP

After seven years of party domination by Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is ready to present himself to Republicans as the natural successor to the former president’s movement and the best candidate to move the GOP beyond a “culture of losing.”

But a planned campaign announcement on Twitter Spaces, an unorthodox choice featuring a conversation with DeSantis and Elon Musk, got off to a messy start, with the production marred by technical issues, including audio that repeatedly cut out.

“Are we on?” someone asked at one point before the event was apparently pulled.

DeSantis’s fledgling campaign tried to spin it to their advantage. “It seems we broke the internet with so much excitement,” read a tweet, with a link for donations. Rivals piled on. “This link works,” tweeted the campaign account for President Biden, who also directed people to contribute money. Said Donald Trump Jr.: “#DeSaster.”

I’m running for president to lead our Great American Comeback. pic.twitter.com/YmkWkLaVDg

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) May 24, 2023

DeSantis has for months acted like a 2024 presidential candidate, but on Wednesday he filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission making the campaign official, fully joining him in conflict with Trump — and a growing field of other GOP hopefuls who are more confident about their chances as DeSantis has slipped in polls.

Wednesday evening, DeSantis is set to highlight his decision in a Twitter Spaces discussion with Elon Musk. He is then expected to be interviewed on Fox News. Travel to early voting states is being planned for after Memorial Day.

The official entry comes ahead of a fundraising push by DeSantis supporters who are convening Thursday in Miami. Roughly 150 people are scheduled to make calls to associates, and DeSantis will speak to the group.

This link works: https://t.co/9PzIJkseYI

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 24, 2023

In recent private conversations with donors, DeSantis has praised Trump’s policies but said he can’t win, according to people familiar with the talks, articulating a message he plans to emphasise publicly. The challenge for DeSantis is to not alienate too many Trump supporters in attempts to convert them.

In a speech Monday in Orlando before the National Religious Broadcasters convention, the governor subtly reminded the audience Trump could only serve four years, given his previous term. He said that over eight years a Republican president could strengthen a conservative majority on the Supreme Court.

“The major donor class has moved on and is literally waiting for DeSantis to get in the race,” said Texas businessman Roy Bailey, who was a national co-chairman of Trump’s fundraising effort in 2020 and is now backing DeSantis.

Trump and his allies are trying to portray DeSantis as an establishment figure, seeking to recapture the outsider image that brought Trump to office in 2016. The Trump campaign plans to greet DeSantis’s entry in the race with a barrage of attacks, noting among other things, rising insurance and electricity costs in Florida under his watch.

Trump attacked DeSantis on social media Wednesday, calling him disloyal for running and pointing out votes DeSantis made as a congressman in favour of resolutions that would, among other things, raise the retirement age for Social Security, a position DeSantis has distanced himself from recently. “Also, he desperately needs a personality transplant and, to the best of my knowledge, they are not medically available yet,” Trump wrote.

A national CNN poll released Wednesday shows Trump as the first choice of 53% of Republican and GOP-leaning voters, compared with 26% for DeSantis. No other candidate or prospective candidate polled close. A March CNN survey had Trump at 40% and DeSantis 36%. When voters in the new poll were asked about a second choice, however, DeSantis got 34% vs. 15% for Trump.

Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump in 2020. Picture: AFP

DeSantis, 44 years old, built a national profile fighting Covid restrictions and in November was re-elected in a landslide. Afforded nearly unprecedented power in Tallahassee, he pushed through a raft of attention-getting conservative legislation, from tougher immigration laws to banning diversity programs in colleges.

Some of his moves have divided Republicans: He escalated a battle with Disney as part of a broader assault on so-called wokeism, drawing criticism from some in his party. And he signed a six-week abortion ban, a step that polls well with conservatives but not with swing voters.

The policies will provide the backdrop of a sales pitch centred on discipline and effectiveness, a contrast to the controversy Trump has generated. DeSantis is also trying to tap in to Republican disappointment in the last three national elections.

“We must reject the culture of losing that has impacted our party in recent years. The time for excuses is over,” DeSantis said earlier this month in Iowa. “If we get distracted, if we focus the election on the past or on other side issues, then I think the Democrats are going to beat us again.” His effort won’t lack for financial resources; a super PAC supporting his candidacy has raised $33 million and is soon to receive more than $80 million from a state committee that DeSantis controlled until recently. That move is likely to draw FEC complaints, though the commission has deadlocked over the same issue in the past.

Breaking Trump’s grip on the party will be an extraordinary challenge. In the months since DeSantis began travelling the country, the former president has widened his lead over a primary field that continues to grow, making it harder for an alternative to consolidate support.

Along with Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is already in the GOP nomination contest, as are former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and radio host Larry Elder. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott entered the race Monday. A number of others are close to deciding whether to run, including former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has said he wouldn’t run “this year” but hasn’t ruled out a bid in 2024.

The Wall Street Journal