The name of Ron DeSantis was talked about as a possible candidate for the White House when the covid-19 pandemic was at its peak and the governor of Florida was doing everything he could to keep the state running normally. Locked in as late as possible, reopened earlier than most (including schools), resisted compulsory mask wearing. He was one of the most popular governors in the US.
But it was after the November 2022 midterm elections, when DeSantis won re-election and was one of the few Republican winners that night, that the buzz around the candidacy grew stronger. Suddenly, his name emerged not as a second choice behind Donald Trump, but as the only one capable of beating the former president, whom many blamed for the poor election result.
After months of false tension, which included travel to key primary states and meetings with financiers, DeSantis officially filed papers with the Election Commission on Wednesday. And he planned to announce his candidacy in a conversation with Elon Musk, owner of Twitter, on the social network where he has 140 million followers and which the former president used like no other to catapult his political career.
A blow to Trump, who, after being suspended from Twitter in the wake of the U.S. Capitol invasion on January 6, 2021, created his own social network – Truth Social. And while he was allowed to return to Twitter after Musk bought it, he still hasn’t. The eccentric millionaire, who also owns Tesla and Space X, told the Wall Street Journal that just because he welcomes DeSantis’ ad doesn’t mean he supports him, just that he wants to see Twitter as a place for election debates. But he has also said his preference is to see “a relatively normal person” in the White House.
The event was scheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m. on the east coast of the US (11 p.m. in Lisbon) and marked the start of nine months of clashes leading up to the primaries that take place between February and June. DeSantis isn’t Trump’s only opponent — there are already four official candidates and more are expected to emerge. But he is best placed to meet him, despite being way off in the polls.
It was Trump himself who helped boost the governor’s popularity, making DeSantis the main target of his mid-term attacks — not fun to watch the conservative media placed the young governor (44 years old) as the face of the future of the Republican Party and the US. After all, it was the former president who had helped the congressman (2013-2018) reach the governorship of Florida in 2019.
The former president even threatened to release compromising information about DeSantis if he advanced in the race. “I know more about him than anyone, except maybe the woman who actually runs the campaign,” Trump said in November. A Catholic, DeSantis is married to former television host Casey DeSantis, with whom he has three children.
The criticism of “DeSanctimonious” – the nickname Trump gave him – has not abated, and he played with words between his name and “sanctimonious“, which refers to someone who is morally superior to others. Yesterday, before the official launch of the candidacy, the former president resorted to his social network for another attack – “He desperately needs a personality transplant and as far as I know it’s not there yet. An unfaithful person!”
DeSantis shares many of the same conservative views as Trump, and has adopted some of his combative rhetoric as well. However, he presents himself as a younger and cleaner version (due to problems with justice) than the former president. At the state level, it passed a series of laws that Republicans welcomed — banning abortion after six weeks, blocking funding to promote diversity in universities, and banning discussion of gender equality and sexual orientation in schools.
But it also clashed with Disney precisely over this issue, which canceled a billion-dollar project that would have created 2,000 jobs. At the international level, he sparked controversy when he said the war in Ukraine was a “territorial dispute”, and said the issue was not a priority for the US – statements he later retracted.
On the run
REPUBLICANS
Donald Trump: The 76-year-old former president, who insists that the 2020 elections were stolen from him, ran for office in November 2022. He is the hot favorite to win the Republican primary, despite legal troubles.
Nikki Haley: The former governor of South Carolina and former US ambassador to the UN appointed by Trump is the only woman in the Republican race for now. At the age of 51, he champions a “new generation of leaders”.
Vivek Ramaswamy: The 37-year-old businessman of Indian descent is known for his anti-woke stances (political correctness taken to an extreme and associated with the radical left in the US).
Asa Hutchinson: The 72-year-old former governor of Arkansas calls himself a “consistent conservative.” It argues that Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021 invasion of the Capitol “disqualifies” him from running for another term.
Larry Elder: The 71-year-old African-American conservative radio star was running for governor of California in 2021. He is running for the White House out of “moral, religious and patriotic” duty.
Tim Scott: The only black senator in the Republican Party, elected from South Carolina, made the official announcement of the candidacy on Monday, speaking of humble beginnings as the son of a single mother. He is 57 years old.
DEMOCRAT
Joe Biden: The president has already announced that he will seek re-election, despite celebrating his 82nd birthday in November 2024 (election month). And that there are more voters who disapprove of the work he has done (53.8%) than those who approve (42%).
Robert Kennedy: The second cousin of former President John F. Kennedy, 69, is a well-known anti-vaccine and controversial figure within the party.
Marianne Williamson: The 70-year-old self-help author, who was also a candidate in 2020, positions herself to the left of Biden.
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Source: DN
