Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) gamble to announce his 2024 presidential candidacy on Twitter encountered several hiccups — and his rivals seized on the issues.
Politico noted the decision to announce his campaign on the social platform was supposed to “signal a dynamic, non-traditional campaign while differentiating DeSantis from his competitors.”
However, the event was delayed for roughly 20 minutes as there were audio and other technological issues. Eventually, the event got underway, but without about half of the audience size.
And it did not take long for the Florida governor’s rivals to poke fun at the disaster.
President Joe Biden tweeted a link to donate to his own campaign with the caption, “This link works.”
This link works: https://t.co/9PzIJkseYI
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 24, 2023
In a separate tweet, Biden shared a video montage and wrote, “No matter what happens, you can hear Ron DeSantis’ agenda loud and clear.”
The video featured clips of DeSantis speaking about an abortion ban and cuts to Social Security.
It later displayed a text that asked, “Can you launch a presidential campaign?” It then showed a video of DeSantis laughing, for which he was ridiculed on social media.
No matter what happens, you can hear Ron DeSantis’ agenda loud and clear. pic.twitter.com/5QmgvfiTgQ
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 25, 2023
Former President Donald Trump also joined in the roasting of his newest primary opponent.
On Truth Social, he wrote, “‘Rob,’ My Red Button is bigger, better, stronger, and is working (TRUTH!), yours does not! (per my conversation with Kim Jung Un, of North Korea, soon to become my friend!).”
TRUMP TO DESANTIS: “Rob,” My Red Button is bigger, better, stronger, and is working (TRUTH!), yours does not! (per my conversation with Kim Jung Un, of North Korea, soon to become my friend!). pic.twitter.com/MR4UANqbTg
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 24, 2023
He also shared a video of a rocket with the words “Ron 2024!” written over it falling over and exploding.
https://twitter.com/DeplorableHank1/status/1661552538812923905
Trump did not stop there. He shared a parody video mocking the issues with the event on Twitter Spaces, including figures such as the devil, Adolf Hitler, billionaire George Soros, former Vice President Dick Cheney, and the FBI all in support of the governor.
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1661590922524520448
Even Fox News took a jab at the technological issues and used the moment to promote its interview with the governor.
A banner on its website read, “PROGRAMMING ALERT: Want to actually see and hear Ron DeSantis? Tune into Fox News at 8 p.m. ET.”
https://t.co/MJDk3cYoAV now has this banner: "PROGRAMMING ALERT: Want to actually see and hear Ron DeSantis? Tune into Fox News at 8 p.m. ET" pic.twitter.com/V7c2fmoULH
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) May 24, 2023
For its part, DeSantis’ team tried to sell the issues with Twitter as a positive. In a video posted later on Wednesday evening, the governor said his announcement “broke the internet because so many people were excited about being on that Twitter Space.”
His campaign said it raised $1 million in the first hour after its launch.