Strains in the relationship emerged during and after Trump’s unsuccessful re-election campaign when DeSantis contrasted his less-restrictive management of the Covid pandemic with Trump’s approach. Trump has long taken credit for the Florida governor’s ascent in national politics after his 2018 endorsement helped DeSantis beat a better-known and financed Republican opponent. The steady drumbeat has hurt DeSantis in most public polling and created a perception he is entering the presidential contest from a position of weakness. That one-two punch has tarnished some of DeSantis’ shine with the national conservative base. In addition, MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC, has spent more than $15 million on television advertisements mostly attacking DeSantis, a huge sum for a candidate who has not yet formally been in the race. There is little question that DeSantis’ entrance comes at a pivotal political moment.įor most of last year, DeSantis was neck and neck with Trump in public polling, but since that time, the former president has hit DeSantis with near daily attacks. “He touched on many things, but if you did a poll of what people remember from that call, it was his pitch about why Trump can’t win.” Going up against Trump “He talked a ton about what he got done and through the Legislature,” a Republican who was on the call told NBC News. The roughly 25-minute call, which was first reported by The New York Times, focused a lot on his conservative policy wins in Tallahassee since taking office. I think the GOP base is really excited to see him get in the race.”ĭeSantis last week held a conference call with donors and top supporters to make his case for why he will beat Trump. “This is going to be a two-person race, and that’s great news for DeSantis. Louis-based Republican bundler who is raising money for DeSantis. Now that he is finally going to be in, it is going to be a reset for this whole campaign,” said Nick Ragone, a St. “He still has momentum from a historic re-election in Florida. Those policies, which will make up the core of DeSantis’ primary platform, drew intense pushback from Democrats and a wide range of advocates, but were overwhelmingly popular with conservatives, many of whom started referring to DeSantis as “America’s Governor.” It’s that sort of momentum supporters think DeSantis will quickly regain now that he is officially in the race. Scott McIntyre / The New York Times via Redux file Ron DeSantis arrives to speak at an event in Doral, Fla., March 1, 2023. Now that he is formally in the race, DeSantis supporters believe he will quickly be able to regain the energy he built up after his sweeping re-election victory in November.ĭeSantis began to build a national following in 2020, with his largely hands-off approach to the Covid pandemic, and he continued his growth by putting Florida on the vanguard of the culture war fights that conservative base voters most intensely care about.ĭeSantis signed several bills focused on cracking down on undocumented immigration, banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors, prohibiting higher education institutions from spending tax dollars on most diversity programs and, most notably, picking a fight with Disney, one of Florida’s biggest employers, over LGBTQ rights.
The DeSantis campaign hopes that the star power Musk offers will create a moment to alter trend lines that in recent months have seen Trump build an early advantage in key states across the country.
Musk’s involvement with DeSantis’ presidential launch was quietly negotiated for weeks by his inner circle of political advisers, and first reported by NBC News. The discussion will be moderated by David Sacks, a tech entrepreneur who is a Musk confidant and strong DeSantis supporter. The billionaire tech mogul has amassed an intense conservative following since buying Twitter and transforming it into a social media platform more welcoming to right-wing voices - including those who were once banned for spreading disinformation. He will take the unconventional step of launching his campaign on Twitter in a conversation with Elon Musk. DeSantis plans to publicly announce his bid Wednesday evening.
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