Ron DeSantis news – live: DeSantis floats pardoning Trump and Jan 6 rioters after ‘train wreck’ Twitter launch

Ron DeSantis’ hotly-anticipated 2024 campaign launch fell flat on Wednesday night when it was marred by technical glitches from the off.

The Florida governor, 44, chose to announce his presidential run in an unconventional way – in a Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk and David Sacks.

But, the event got off to a rocky start when it crashed several times and the sound repeatedly dropped out.

While Musk claimed the servers were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people tuning in to listen, Mr DeSantis faced ridicule for the underwhelming launch from online commentators and both sides of the political aisle.

Mr DeSantis, seen as Donald Trump’s biggest rival for the Republican vote, sought to brush off the debacle on Fox News interview and has doing the rounds of rightwing media on Thursday.

In one interview he said, if elected president, he would consider pardons for those charged with January 6 offences, from people at the Capitol riot all the way up to Mr Trump.

Key Points

• Biden mocks chaotic DeSantis 2024 launch amid Twitter tech issues: ‘This link works’

• MSNBC host calls DeSantis Twitter Space ‘ASTOUNDINGLY HUMILIATING degree of incompetence'

• After tech issues subside, DeSantis mocked for ‘annoying voice’

• Fox news calls DeSantis announcement on Twitter ‘a disaster’ as Trump joins in mockery

• AOC mocks amount of listeners to DeSantis Twitter Spaces event

Ron DeSantis’ 2024 campaign launch suffers another technical glitch

10:27 , Rachel Sharp

Ron DeSantis suffered yet another technical glitch as he continued to plough ahead with his 2024 campaign run following Wednesday’s disastrous Twitter Spaces launch.

The Florida governor appeared on Newsmax on Thursday night to speak about his priorities as he hopes to get the Republican vote for the presidential race.

But, during his appearance – and in the midst of an attack on the NAACP’s travel advisory – the show suffered a technical problem, with the screen freezing.

This marks the second time in two nights that Mr DeSantis’ campaign launch has been plagued by tech issues after his hotly-anticipated launch fell flat on Wednesday night.

How did a question about Ukraine turn into a rambling answer about trans rights and climate change?

10:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Andrew Feinberg reports on how the Florida governor failed to answer a direct question about Russia’s war on Ukraine during an interview with Trey Gowdy on Fox News.

DeSantis dodges Ukraine question with bizarre answer about trans rights

Memes mock dire Ron DeSantis 2024 launch

09:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Technological glitches launched a thousand memes before the launch of the DeSantis campaign.

Ariana Baio reports.

Memes mock disastrous DeSantis 2024 launch as #DeSaster trends

DeSantis campaign says it raised $8.2 million in first 24 hours

09:15 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Florida governor Ron DeSantis raised $8.2 million in his first 24 hours as a presidential candidate, his campaign said on Thursday.

A donor making calls in the room first disclosed that the campaign had raised $8.2 million, and the figure was confirmed by a spokesperson for Mr DeSantis Bryan Griffin, reported The New York Times.

The figure is more than the $6.3 million that president Joe Biden raised in his first 24 hours as a candidate in 2019.

It is also more than the $6.1 million raised by former Rep. Beto O’Rourke that same year.

It is also roughly double the $4 million that Trump’s campaign said it had raised in the 24 hours after his criminal indictment earlier this year.

Mr Griffin said to the outlet that the campaign was raising both primary and general election funds.

The campaign can raise $3,300 per donor for both the primary and general election.He did not specify how money was earmarked for use only in the general election, should DeSantis become the nominee.

It is also not clear how many donors contributed in the first 24 hours.

Key takeaways from Ron DeSantis’ campaign rollout

08:45 , Oliver O'Connell

After a 30-minute delay caused by technological glitches with Twitter’s “Spaces” audio conversation system, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ much-hyped announcement of his 2024 presidential campaign kicked off with a billionaire praising another billionaire.

The first billionaire, venture capitalist and DeSantis booster David Sacks, opened the conversation with fulsome praise for Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX impresario who bought Twitter last year with the aim of allowing unfettered conversations by all sorts of right-wing characters who’d been banned for violating the site’s rules under its prior management.

Mr Sacks then turned to introduce Mr DeSantis, who he said first drew his attention when the Florida governor began attacking public health measures recommended by medical professionals at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

And with that, Mr DeSantis began making his pitch to voters — or at least the voters who are on Twitter and cared enough to listen.

Here are some key takeaways.

Key takeaways from Ron DeSantis’ campaign rollout

Twitter's launch of DeSantis' presidential bid underscores platform's rightward shift under Musk

08:15 , Sravasti Dasgupta

The new Elon Musk-owned version of Twitter helped Ron DeSantis launch his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Wednesday.

Though it was marred by technical glitches and skewered by the candidate’s critics, the forum nevertheless underscored Twitter’s unmistakable shift to the right under Musk, who bought it for $44 billion and took over in October.

“The truth was censored repeatedly, and now that Twitter is in the hands of a free speech advocate, that would not be able to happen again on this Twitter platform,” Mr DeSantis said during the Twitter Spaces event.

Read more:

Twitter's launch of DeSantis' presidential bid underscores platform's rightward shift under Musk

DeSantis laughs off Trump’s mocking nicknames

07:45 , Oliver O'Connell

“You can call me whatever you want just make sure you call me a winner because that’s what we’ve done in the state of Florida — and that’s exactly what we would do nationally, not only in the election but actually bringing all these great policies to bear” he said, without mentioning Mr Trump by name, in an interview with Fox News.

DeSantis laughs off Trump’s endless list of mocking nicknames: ‘Just call me winner’

DeSantis says attacks by Trump show he knows 'I’ve got a good chance to beat him'

07:15 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Florida governor Ron DeSantis has said that Donald Trump’s slew of attacks directed at him after he announced his bid for presidency shows that the former president knows that he can beat him.

“I think a lot of what he’s doing is showing everyone that he understands that I’ve got a good chance to beat him, because he doesn’t criticise anybody else now. It’s only me,” Mr DeSantis said in an interview with host Jack Heath on “The Pulse of New Hampshire”, reported Fox News.

“They wouldn’t do that if they didn’t think that I had chance because I think they realize that I am offering folks a record of achievement that’s second to none.”

Will what won Florida for DeSantis win America for him too?

06:45 , Oliver O'Connell

John Bowden profiles the highest-profile Republican seeking to dethrone Donald Trump.

The War on Terror made DeSantis Florida’s anti-woke warrior. Will that win in 2024?

DeSantis pushes past embarrassing campaign start, outlines travel schedule for early state visits

06:15 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Florida governor Ron DeSantis has sought to push past an embarrassing beginning to his presidential campaign, outlining an aggressive travel schedule as his allies insisted they remain well funded and well positioned for a long Republican primary fight ahead.

While DeSantis supporters privately acknowledged the bungled announcement was an unwelcome distraction, there was a broad sense — even among some Republican critics — that it would likely have limited long-term political consequences, if any at all.

Read more:

DeSantis pushes past embarrassing campaign start, outlines travel schedule for early state visits

Could Ron DeSantis beat Donald Trump?

05:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia and Andrew Feinberg write:

He’s a ubiquitous presence in conservative media with a reputation as an anti-woke warrior who has used a compliant state legislature to make Florida a mecca for Trump-era Republicanism.

But if Ron DeSantis wants to be president, he has to defeat Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and prominent Florida politicians aren’t so sure either of those things will ever happen.

Read more:

Can Ron DeSantis beat Donald Trump? These Florida political veterans aren’t so sure

Video resurfaces of Ron DeSantis ‘wiping snot’ on elderly supporter

05:15 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Ron DeSantis’s bid to become to the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential candidate got off to a wretched start on Wednesday, when the Twitter Spaces event at which he made his announcement in the company of Elon Musk was hit by a series of technical glitches.

Discussing the “DeSaster” on her MSNBC show The ReidOut on Wednesday night, anchor Joy Reid joined in the mockery of the event and showed a clip of Mr DeSantis meeting supporters at a fundraising bash in Sioux Center, Iowa, last weekend in which he wipes his hand across his face before patting an elderly gentleman sitting nearby on the shoulder.

“Part of running for office is shaking hands,” the host commented. “Not only does this dude eat pudding with his hands, he literally wipes his nose and wiped snot on somebody’s shirt. We have [video] of it.

Read more:

Video resurfaces of Ron DeSantis ‘wiping snot’ on elderly supporter

DeSantis mocked yet again for campaign ad packed with Elon Musk footage

04:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Ron DeSantis’s 2024 campaign paved the way for more ridicule to be heaped upon the Florida governor after his official Twitter Spaces presidential announcement was marred by glitches.

The “DeSantis War Room” Twitter account released a stylised advertisement of over three minutes that was roundly mocked for heavily featuring Elon Musk, whose platform was used for the Republican’s long-awaited campaign announcement.

Shweta Sharma reports.

Ron DeSantis mocked yet again for campaign ad packed with Elon Musk footage

Biden mocks chaotic DeSantis 2024 launch

03:45 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden poked fun at Ron DeSantis as the Florida governor’s 2024 campaign kickoff during a Twitter Spaces event with CEO Elon Musk was riddled with tech issues.

David Taintor reports.

Biden mocks chaotic DeSantis 2024 launch amid Twitter tech issues: ‘This link works’

What is Twitter Spaces and what went wrong last night?

03:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Ron DeSantis’s long-anticipated 2024 campaign bid for the White House on Twitter Spaces was marred by a host of glitches that gave his political rivals enough ammunition to mock the Florida governor.

Long silences and persistent echoes marred Mr DeSantis’s Wednesday announcement that he made on Twitter’s audio group-chat feature with billionaire Elon Musk who has long boasted about several overhauls to the social media platform to make it better than it was under previous leadership.

Vishwam Sankaran reports.

What is Twitter Spaces and why did it go so wrong during DeSantis’s 2024 launch?

Voices: The right’s delusions about Ron DeSantis

02:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

Republicans would love to be able to have a sort of super-candidate who could simultaneously pass all of the policies Mr Trump enacted, nominate all of his judges, not fire off tweets that cause them headaches, but also help them get back on the path of victories in the suburbs while also not alienating the very non-college-educated voters (including a non-negligible slice of people of colour) that Mr Trump brought into the Republican fold.

But Mr DeSantis likely isn’t that candidate and he certainly isn’t the beta version of Mr Trump. If anything, he is likely to be the next version of Ted Cruz.

Read more...

The right’s delusions about Ron DeSantis

02:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Who is Ron DeSantis? Potential challenger to Donald Trump in 2024

ICYMI: DeSantis 2024 launch with Elon Musk derailed by tech issues

01:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Ron DeSantis’ unorthodox campaign launch got off to a troubled start on Wednesday evening due to technological issues with Twitter.

The Florida governor chose to officially kick off his bid for the White House on Twitter in a conversation with Elon Musk, but the beginning of their Twitter Spaces event was bedeviled by issues including long silences and a persistent echo. For some users, the Spaces feature crashed.

Abe Asher reports.

Ron DeSantis 2024 launch with Elon Musk derailed by tech issues

Elon Musk’s curious politics revealed

01:15 , Oliver O'Connell

“I prefer to stay out of politics.” Those were Elon Musk’s words when forced in September 2021 to respond to a claim by Texas governor Greg Abbott that he supported the state’s anti-abortion laws.

If he really does prefer to stay out of politics, however, Musk has a funny way of showing it, writes Io Dodds.

What are Elon Musk’s political beliefs?

Voices: His 2024 launch was laughable but DeSantis could be more dangerous than Trump

Friday 26 May 2023 00:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Ahmed Baba writes:

DeSantis's claim that he can do for America what he's done for Florida may read like a promise to his extreme base, but it is perceived as a warning for the majority of Americans who oppose his extremism.

Read more...

His 2024 launch was laughable but DeSantis could be more dangerous than Trump

‘Faulty robot’ DeSantis mocked over bizarre video of roaring laughter

Friday 26 May 2023 00:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Nothing is that funny.

Ron DeSantis mocked over bizarre video of roaring laughter

After embarrassing start to campaign, DeSantis outlines early state travel schedule

Thursday 25 May 2023 23:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday sought to push past an embarrassing beginning to his presidential campaign, outlining an aggressive travel schedule as his allies insisted they remain well funded and well positioned for a long Republican primary fight ahead.

While DeSantis supporters privately acknowledged the bungled announcement was an unwelcome distraction, there was a broad sense — even among some Republican critics — that it would likely have limited long-term political consequences, if any at all.

“Do they wish they could do it over again? Probably,” said David Oman, who managed two top-tier presidential campaigns in Iowa. “Will we be talking about it in 10 days? Probably not.”

DeSantis pushes past embarrassing campaign start, outlines travel schedule for early state visits

What’s on the DeSantis agenda?

Thursday 25 May 2023 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell

From the death penalty to gender identity to abortion, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has cemented himself as a conservative standard-bearer in the lead-up to his 2024 presidential announcement.

With the help of GOP supermajorities in the statehouse, the Republican has been able to push through an aggressive agenda that forms the base of his White House run, which he made official in a Federal Election Commission filing Wednesday.

Here’s a look at some of the policies:

What's on DeSantis' agenda? A look at the laws he passed as Florida governor, from abortion to guns

AOC jokes more people watched her gaming online than DeSantis launch

Thursday 25 May 2023 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell

New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mocked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign launch by noting that more people watched her gaming online than listened to the 44-year-old begin to make his case to the voters.

Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, DC.

AOC jokes more people watched her gaming online than listened to DeSantis launch

Everything you need to know about DeSantis v Disney

Thursday 25 May 2023 22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Woodward examines how – as Disney writes in a recent lawsuit – “it has come to this.”

DeSantis v Disney: Why Florida’s governor is at war with the Mouse

DeSantis launch highlights Twitter’s rightward lurch under Elon Musk

Thursday 25 May 2023 21:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Two years ago, signing a bill intended to punish Twitter and other major social media companies, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blasted the platforms as “suppressing ideas” during the COVID-19 pandemic and silencing conservative voices.

What a turnaround.

The new Elon Musk-owned version of Twitter helped DeSantis launch his bid for the Republican presidential nomination Wednesday.

Read more...

Twitter's launch of DeSantis' presidential bid underscores platform's rightward shift under Musk

Voices: For a Florida man, Ron DeSantis is pretty bad at ‘feeding the alligators’

Thursday 25 May 2023 21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia gives his view of the start of the Florida governor’s 2024 campaign and how he has taken his fight to the media.

For a Florida man, Ron DeSantis is pretty bad at ‘feeding the alligators’

Video resurfaces of DeSantis apparently ‘wiping snot’ on elderly supporter

Thursday 25 May 2023 21:15 , Oliver O'Connell

At least he didn’t shake his hand?

Video resurfaces of Ron DeSantis ‘wiping snot’ on elderly supporter

What is Twitter Spaces and why did it go so wrong for DeSantis?

Thursday 25 May 2023 20:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Ron DeSantis’s long-anticipated 2024 campaign bid for the White House on Twitter Spaces was marred by a host of glitches that gave his political rivals enough ammunition to mock the Florida governor.

Long silences and persistent echoes marred Mr DeSantis’s Wednesday announcement that he made on Twitter’s audio group-chat feature with billionaire Elon Musk who has long boasted about several overhauls to the social media platform to make it better than it was under previous leadership.

Vishwam Sankaran explains what happened.

What is Twitter Spaces and why did it go so wrong during DeSantis’s 2024 launch?

#DeSaster: Memes mock dire Ron DeSantis 2024 launch on Twitter Spaces

Thursday 25 May 2023 20:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Ron DeSantis’ attempt to launch his 2024 presidential campaign via Twitter Spaces did not go as planned as the platform faced a plethora of technological issues, prompting a flood of memes and mockery.

Ariana Baio reports.

Memes mock disastrous DeSantis 2024 launch as #DeSaster trends

Trump lambasts DeSantis with new videos

Thursday 25 May 2023 20:05 , Oliver O'Connell

“When the Ron DeSanctimonious facts come out, you will see that he is better than most Democrat governors, but very average, at best, compared to Republican governors!” says former president Donald Trump in a newly released video attacking Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over his Covid-19 record.

Mr Trump adds in a second video that Mr DeSantis is only governor because of him.

Full story: DeSantis says he will consider pardon for Trump if elected

Thursday 25 May 2023 19:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Thursday said he would “aggressively” use presidential pardons to free people who’ve been charged or convicted of crimes stemming from participation in the January 6 attack on the Capitol as well as former president Donald Trump.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Ron DeSantis says he will consider pardon for Trump if elected

Fury in Trump’s inner circle as Fox News host seemingly backs Ron DeSantis

Thursday 25 May 2023 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Members of Donald Trump’s inner circle called out Fox News host Mark Levin on Twitter for tweeting the link to Ron DeSantis’ campaign and accused the conservative commentator of fundraising for the Florida governor.

On Wednesday (24 May) evening, Levin tweeted the link hours after Mr DeSantis announced he would be joining the race for 2024 president.

Ariana Baio reports on what happened next.

Trump’s inner circle furious as Fox News host seemingly backs Ron DeSantis

How did a question about Ukraine turn into a rambling answer about trans rights and climate change?

Thursday 25 May 2023 19:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Andrew Feinberg reports on how the Florida governor failed to answer a direct question about Russia’s war on Ukraine during an interview with Trey Gowdy on Fox News.

DeSantis dodges Ukraine question with bizarre answer about trans rights

DeSantis says he would consider pardoning Jan 6 defendants including Trump, if elected

Thursday 25 May 2023 19:00 , Oliver O'Connell

In an interview with The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said if he’s elected president that on his first day in office, he will consider pardoning any January 6th defendant he believes was politically prosecuted from a member of the public all the way up to President Trump himself.

Listen below:

Here’s the full transcript.

GOV DESANTIS: The DOJ and FBI have been weaponized. We see that. We see it in a variety of contexts, some of which you mentioned. Some of it is the FBI going after parents, going to school board meeting. Some of it’s how they treat a pro-life demonstrator, how they don’t go after people that are attacking pro-lifers. And so what I’m going to do is — I’m going to do on day one – I will have folks that will get together and look at all these cases, who people are victims of weaponisation or political targeting, and we will be aggressive at issuing parties. Now, some of these cases, some people may have a technical violation of the law.

But if there are three other people who did the same thing, but just in a context like BLM and they don’t get prosecuted at all, that is uneven application of justice, and so we’re going to find ways where that did not happen. And then we will use the pardon power — and I will do that at the front end. You know, a lot of people wait until the end of the administration to issue pardons. We’re going to find examples where government’s been weaponised against disfavoured groups, and we will apply relief as appropriate. But it will be done on a case-by-case basis because I think you’ve got to make sure that… There’s a whole bunch of cases that don’t necessarily get headlines. But if people are being treated just because they don’t get on TV or something, they’re being treated disfavorably. They need to have a fair hearing as well.

CLAY: And that could be from a grandma who got arrested and prosecuted too much all the way up to, potentially, Trump himself. Is that fair to say when you analyse what the charges might have been brought on a federal level?

GOV. DESANTIS: I would say any example of disfavoured treatment based on politics or weaponisation would be included in that review, no matter how small or how big.