Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) was mocked by Twitter users after his presidential campaign launch, which occurred on a Twitter space, was plagued with technical difficulties.
As Breitbart News reported:
The Twitter Spaces call, scheduled to launch at 6 p.m. Eastern, began several minutes late as one unidentified voice whispered that it was “quiet.” David Sacks, the entrepreneur hosting the event, began to introduce Elon Musk and asserted that this was “historic” before the audio cut out. From then on, the audio continued to cut in out several times, with continued echoing and seemingly random voices — not the voice of the governor, whom the conversation was all about.
DailyMail ran a headline that called DeSantis’s Twitter Spaces chat the “biggest fail in campaign launches in history.”
The Verge and Business Insider both ran headlines criticizing DeSantis’s “disastrous” campaign launch event.
President Joe Biden took the opportunity to poke fun at DeSantis, tweeting, “This link works,” along with a link to his fundraising page.
This link works: https://t.co/9PzIJkseYI
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 24, 2023
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) noted that DeSantis had a lower turnout than when she streamed herself on Twitch playing video games.
“We had more people join when I played Among Us,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
We had more people join when I played Among Us 👾 https://t.co/zBoDCM0XmL
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 24, 2023
“More people watch CNN than DeSantis’ Twitter Space,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said.
Columnist David Marcus suggested DeSantis’s launch was “the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to a presidential candidate.”
“Just hold a rally,” Marcus added.
This is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to a presidential candidate and it’s not close. Just hold a rally.
— David Marcus (@BlueBoxDave) May 24, 2023
The View co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin said the event made DeSantis “appear like a talk radio host rather than the future leader of the free world.”
“The goal of a prez announcement is to look & sound Presidential. Campaigns spend months planning them. Comms& advance teams consider every detail,” Griffin said. “Points for creativity, but it made DeSantis appear like a talk radio host rather than the future leader of the free world.”
The goal of a prez announcement is to look & sound Presidential. Campaigns spend months planning them. Comms& advance teams consider every detail. Points for creativity, but it made DeSantis appear like a talk radio host rather than the future leader of the free world.
— Alyssa Farah Griffin (@Alyssafarah) May 24, 2023
“DeSedative,” Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) tweeted while the Twitter Spaces was live.
DeSedative
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) May 24, 2023
Conservative influencer Rogan O’Handley called DeSantis’s announcement “bizarre.”
“This is honestly so bizarre to listen to DeSantis’ announcement Trump made you Governor Trump is crushing the polls,” O’Handley tweeted. “WHY would you enter this race now and divide the GOP?!”
This is honestly so bizarre to listen to DeSantis’ announcement
Trump made you Governor
Trump is crushing the polls
WHY would you enter this race now and divide the GOP?!
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) May 24, 2023
“More like Yawn DeSantis,” Jack Posobiec joked.
More like Yawn DeSantis
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) May 24, 2023
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) also took a shot at DeSantis, saying DeSantis “just became the first presidential candidate in American history to launch his campaign after suffering a massive defeat to a cartoon mouse.”
To put this all in perspective: Ron DeSantis just became the first presidential candidate in American history to launch his campaign after suffering a massive defeat to a cartoon mouse.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) May 24, 2023
Donald Trump Jr. claimed that DeSantis’s comments during his campaign announcement made failed presidential candidate Jeb Bush, who his father famously dubbed “low energy,” “look high energy,”
DeSantis is making JEB! look high energy right now.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 24, 2023
Trump Jr. also tweeted “#DeSaster,” which trended on Twitter shortly after he sent out the tweet.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 24, 2023
This launch of a presidential campaign was such a complete shitshow, people will be laughing about this for days and days. 😝 pic.twitter.com/UO3ZWju0UL
— StrictlyChristo 🇺🌻 (@StrictlyChristo) May 24, 2023
“Kicked off three times. this is a disaster. not surprising,” tweeted Chris LaCivita, one of former President Donald Trump’s advisers.
The former president also sounded off on his Truth Social platform, suggesting DeSantis’s botched campaign launch was fatal.
“Is the DeSantis launch FATAL? Yes!” Trump said.
“Wow! The DeSanctus TWITTER launch is a DISASTER! His whole campaign will be a disaster. WATCH,” Trump added.
“‘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 said.
In addition to the comments online, hundreds of people reportedly gathered outside of the Four Seasons hotel in Miami, Florida, where wealthy donors joined for the first DeSantis campaign event.
Hundreds of people in outside of the Four Seasons hotel to protest DeSantis’ event with wealthy donors as he launches his presidential campaign. pic.twitter.com/KurezT64t7
— Thomas Kennedy (@tomaskenn) May 24, 2023
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
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