Even with Musk by his side, it will be difficult for DeSantis to keep up with Trump.

What’s going on tonight?

Ron DeSantis, the ultra-conservative governor of the US state of Florida, will announce his 2024 presidential primary campaign in a live audio call on Twitter Spaces with Elon Musk, owner of the social medium, at midnight on our time.

DeSantis has been expected for some time to take over from his former mentor Donald Trump. The former president is still leading in the polls to win the Republican nomination next year.

The fact that DeSantis cooperated with Musk came as a surprise to many, since the governor has often criticized Big Tech in the past, which he believes cooperates too much with the federal government. But Musk is also an outsider in that area, because he has scaled back previous Twitter administration interventions — such as banning Trump. on Twitter.

Musk also likes to keep DeSantis by his side for business reasons. The large Cape Canaveral space base, where his SpaceX base is located, is located in DeSantis’ Florida.

Is launching his candidacy with Misk at his side a wise move?

Yes and no. Yes, because Musk has become increasingly sympathetic to the Republican cause over the past year — although he said he voted for incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden in the last election. No, because Musk is Musk. DeSantis is taking a risk by going into business With the second richest man in the world, Musk is eccentric and has been known to lift people up on a platform for one hour and bring them back down the next.

When DeSantis was asked last summer about potential support for Musk, the Florida governor said, “I welcome the support of African Americans.” What can I say?’ (Musk is white and he’s from South Africa.) Of course, if you have Musk on your side, you can count on a great national reach among Republicans, which DeSantis needs, because he hasn’t proven anything for his party outside of Florida. after.

DeSantis could also take advantage of the fact that Trump has not yet returned to Twitter, despite Musk’s call.

Will Twitter become a DeSantis channel now?

No, Musk has made it clear that he does not officially support DeSantis, but his channel is becoming increasingly Republican in the US. On Monday he also posted on his social media the candidacy of South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. He also hosted Tucker Carlson, the fired former Fox News star. .

“On the contrary, DeSantis will of course benefit from other media as well. For example, this Wednesday evening he will also appear on Fox News in an interview with Trey Gowdy, a former congressman from South Carolina.”

Money plays an important role in the primaries. How’s DeSantis?

The governor did indeed gather potential donors on Wednesday at the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami. Among them is Republican donor David Sachs, a DeSantis supporter and acquaintance of Musk as a tech pioneer, who will moderate the Twitter Spaces debate. Sacks has already given $50,000 to DeSantis, but that’s peanuts in the presidential primary campaign.

“DeSantis’ team is committed to raising $200 million for the campaign of conservative voters in states including Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina.”

What is DeSantis’ position?

You have to put him in the very conservative wing of Republicans, on the right side of someone like Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence. He wages culture wars against progressive schools, against women’s rights, against abortion and against homosexuals.

His anti-gay stances recently put him on a collision course with Disney, Florida’s largest employer, which has an open and diverse employee policy. The development even led Disney to cancel a $1 billion investment in a campus for its employees in Lake Nona, which also created the 2000 A job. DeSantis will certainly be charged during the campaign by an opponent like Trump, who now also lives in Florida.”

What are his chances?

Even with Musk on his side, according to recent polls, DeSantis will have to knock on many doors to catch up with Trump and pull his Republican base into his camp. The average of all the polls, compiled by RealClearPolitics, still gives Trump 56 percent of the Republican primary vote. DeSantis comes in second, with 19.4%. Launching his campaign would add a few percentage points to that.

Much will also depend on how Trump performs in his impeachment trials and whether his voters drop out. Even if the latter were to happen, DeSantis could be too conservative and elitist for grassroots voters who voted for Trump in previous election cycles.”