DeSantis has become a leader in the GOP thanks to his disciplined messaging and purposeful surroundings. When Twitter Spaces launched in 2024, DeSantis lost control.

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• DeSantis’ controlled message and discipline are a key part of his branding.
• This was tested Wednesday, when he selected a new platform to launch his presidential campaign.
• Twitter Spaces crashed as listeners flooded into the service.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has spent the past two years traveling across Florida, and then America. He stayed focused on his message and he controlled the environment. He was never late for press conferences or political stops. At every stop, he focused on the same issues — criticizing President Joe Biden often — and was prepared with answers ready for the media.

He was unable to control the audio-only platform, Twitter Spaces, that he used for his highly anticipated 2024 presidential campaign. After the site crashed, the discussion between Elon Musk, Twitter's CEO and David Sacks was delayed for almost 30 minutes.

Sacks stated, "We have so many people in the room that I'm worried we might be melting servers." Around 600,000 people had been in the room at one point, but about 300,000 joined to listen.

DeSantis continued to talk about his positions, even when the technology started to work. He repeated many of the points he had already made during his stump speeches on topics ranging from Walt Disney World, immigration, and cryptocurrency. DeSantis answered a number of friendly questions, but none related to former president Donald Trump.

The Twittersphere, and the rival campaigns, were focused on the technical failures that could be embarrassing for Musk and DeSantis. Later in the evening, #DeSaster began to trend on social media.

A Republican political operative sent Insider a text message 10 minutes after the conversation began, in which there were many starts and stops, robot sounds, and whispers.

Both the Biden campaign and Trump campaign pounced. The Biden campaign shared a link on Twitter to its fundraising page, writing "This link works". The Trump campaign issued numerous press releases criticizing DeSantis for his sagging poll results, accusing him as a lifetime politician and a part of the establishment.

Tim Scott's Presidential Launch, even though the microphone was broken (don't pay contractor, Tim!) "Tim Scott's presidential launch, even with the broken microphone (don't pay the contractor, Tim! "Robs was a disaster!" Trump used the nickname "Rob", after a Daily Mail typo that referred to DeSantis a few weeks earlier.

DeSantis is often compared to Trump in lengthy news profiles. For example, Trump with "brain" or Trump "without drama."

DeSantis is a good planner and a person who doesn't hesitate to speak up when he feels cornered. His administration in Florida also has fewer leaks. He can be more reserved during serious times, and he knows how to hide major announcements. He often makes national headlines when he shares his news.

Trump is known for his freewheeling nature, impulsiveness, and willingness to make decisions on Twitter.

Sacks apologized for technical problems to DeSantis on Wednesday and asked why he decided to announce the news with them rather than cable television.

The governor stated that he did not want to "go with the crowd" but instead wanted to "cut the grain." He then shifted the conversation to the policy and how he had resisted federal health officials in the COVID-19 epidemic.

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DeSantis' allies: the governor broke the Internet

DeSantis campaign blamed the problems on the overwhelming interest shown in DeSantis presidential bid. Bryan Griffin, a campaign spokesman on Twitter, stated that Governor DeSantis had literally blown up the internet with his vision of our Great American Comeback. Washington is next. "$1 million raised online in an hour… and counting!"

The choice to launch the campaign on Twitter was a risky move, as the site had only been under Musk’s control for seven months, during which there were numerous layoffs and many Democrats accused the site of becoming right-wing.

After speaking with Musk and Sacks, Generra Peck revealed on Twitter that nearly 1 million people had tried to enter the Twitter space. She wrote: "They started with more than 700k people in the room and hundreds of thousands trying get in." "Had the room relocated."

Most presidential candidates choose to announce their candidacy through more traditional means, such as holding public events or giving interviews to cable news outlets. Trump began his 2016 presidential campaign by riding his golden escalator in Trump Tower, New York. He will launch his 2024 campaign from his gold-encrusted ballroom at Mar-a-Lago.

Sam Nunberg who worked for Trump's 2016 presidential campaign told Insider he thought DeSantis launched his campaign with Musk, because the billionaire who is also CEO at Tesla and SpaceX is popular among conservatives. He said, "If you told me that there would be some technical problems but Elon Musk was on board, I would take it." "It is recorded anyhow." The hashtag #DeSantis2024 also became popular.

Nunberg stated that the money raised would help fund the ground game of the Iowa campaign. Comparatively, Sen. Ted Cruz from Texas raised $1 million in one day as a 2016 presidential candidate. Nunberg stated that "everything Elon touches turns into gold."

DeSantis then headed to Fox News where he is a regular guest. He has avoided other networks for the most part. Trey Gowdy joked with DeSantis that Fox News would not crash during the interview.

DeSantis then shifted to his message, saying, "It broke the Twitter Space. We are really excited by the enthusiasm." Levin, who was his next stop, said at the end of the Mark Levin Show that there had been some technical problems because so many people were listening. DeSantis gave some sporadic answers towards the end of the debate.

DeSantis has made it clear that, despite the technical problems, he will be returning to Twitter.

DeSantis, at the conclusion of the event, said: "We should do this again. I thought it was fun." This is a fantastic platform.

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By: kleonard@insider.com (Kimberly Leonard)
Title: DeSantis rose to GOP prominence thanks to messaging discipline and intentional surroundings. With Twitter Spaces 2024 debut, he lost control.
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/disciplined-desantis-lost-control-twitter-spaces-presidential-run-2023-5
Published Date: Thu, 25 May 2023 02:20:33 +0000

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