United States: Ron DeSantis will announce his candidacy for the White House this Wednesday on Twitter with Elon Musk.

Elon Musk, one of the richest men in the world, shows that he will make a difference in this race. Republican Ron DeSantis will announce his 2024 presidential candidacy on Wednesday during a live Twitter chat with Elon Musk, a source close to AFP said on Tuesday. .

This information was quickly confirmed by the boss of the social network. “I’m about to interview Ron DeSantis and he’s got to make a damn big announcement,” he told the Wall Street Journal. The conversation between the two men is scheduled for Wednesday at 6:00 pm Washington time (10:00 pm GMT) and will be led by Republican businessman David Sacks.

The 44-year-old Florida governor is seen as Donald Trump’s main rival for the Republican nomination. This former naval officer was narrowly elected in 2018 as head of Florida in the southeastern United States after winning the backing of then-White House Donald Trump.

He has since distanced himself from the billionaire and gained popularity by multiplying ultra-conservative remarks about education or immigration in the name of combating supposed “good thinking”. But Ron DeSantis’ path to the White House is littered with traps.

His lack of charisma is his main flaw.

The governor, whom many conservatives pinned hopes on in the presidential election after his triumphant re-election in Florida in November 2022, according to numerous opinion polls, is seriously behind Donald Trump, the official candidate since November 16, 2022.

Its main disadvantage? Lack of charisma, emphasized from all sides. His advertising format was also heavily ridiculed by Donald Trump’s circle. “Announcing your candidacy on Twitter is perfect for DeSantis. That way he doesn’t have to interact with anyone,” one of his advisers told AFP.

Surrounded by legal investigations, Donald Trump continues to denounce the “witch hunt” – the battle cry of his supporters, who remain largely loyal to him – and plunged headlong into a second race for the White House. The former White House owner boasts that he raised several million dollars after he was indicted by a New York court on April 4 in a historic indictment that became the subject of dizzying media attention.

“New Guard”

In this face-to-face with Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, however, can count on a hefty $110 million war chest, which he intends to use to try and catch up by flooding the country with ads. In a recent video of his political action committee, a man puts a “President DeSantis” sticker on a car to cover up the “Trump 2016” sign.

This is a summary of the message the governor wants to convey to voters: Face-to-face with 76-year-old billionaire Ron DeSantis, he claims to be the new guard. Both men are the top two favorites for the Republican nomination. Other declared Republican candidates – Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Asa Hutchinson – rarely exceed 5% of the vote at the moment.

The battle promises to be fierce. The fighting between the two men began long before the Florida governor descended on the arena, with sharp statements and meetings interrupted.

The candidate selected by the Republican camp in the primaries will face the candidate nominated by the Democratic Party in November 2024. President Joe Biden is running for re-election. Best-selling author Marianne Williamson and Kennedy Jr.’s nephew Robert Kennedy Jr. were also in the race for the Democratic nomination, but their chances seem extremely slim.