Politics

'This link works': Social media reactions to Ron DeSantis campaign launch announcement

This illustration photo shows the Twitter page of Ron DeSantis as he announces his 2024 presidential run with a background of the live Twitter talk with Elon Musk on May 24, 2023. The live event was beset by technical bugs.

This illustration photo shows the Twitter page of Ron DeSantis as he announces his 2024 presidential run with a background of the live Twitter talk with Elon Musk on May 24, 2023. The live event was beset by technical bugs. Photo by CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images

By Tristan Wood

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Tristan Wood
By Tristan Wood
Staff Writer

Before Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign announcement Wednesday, there were some who questioned whether Twitter’s servers could hold up to the traffic of the announcement.

Now we know.

Over 600,000 people from across the political spectrum tried to listen to his announcement on a Twitter Space with the social media service's executive chairman, Elon Musk. They were met with 20 minutes of mostly silence.

Musk and others tried to get a few words in before glitching out. The billionaire was heard speculating that it could be that the servers were crashing. 

While they eventually got it working by taking it to moderator David Sacks' account, the damage was done. The second stream eventually reached only half of the original listenership.

Liberals and conservatives alike began posting about the flop, with the #DeSaster hashtag trending on Twitter, more than the hashtag associated with the campaign announcement.

Meantime, Trump lobbed his own shots at DeSantis for the flubbed announcement start from the former president’s Truth Social account. 

DeSantis’ team and some followers responded to the technical breakdowns by saying the governor got so much attention he broke the internet, although the amount that did so is not even a third of the daily average views that conservative Fox News gets in their average 6 p.m. time slot.

Here’s a compilation of social media reaction (including Trump’s Truth Social comments) about DeSantis’ campaign announcement:

Donald Trump:

The former president responded with a barrage of Truth Social posts, ranging from quick video edits mocking DeSantis to mocking call outs:

Some Republicans attack, others defend

MAGA-aligned politicians and allied media personalities were quick to call the event a bad look for DeSantis. The governor's team and others friendly to DeSantis tried to put a positive spin on the Twitter crashes:

Democrats have a field day

Several national and Florida Democrats and former Republicans took to the app to jeer at the Twitter Space technical difficulties. The Joe Biden reelection campaign even capitalized to make a fundraising push:

Media adds analysis

Reporters and columnists from across the country were also active, sharing quick comments they were getting from sources about the glitches and giving their own takes:

Elon Musk wants another one

After the space concluded, Musk sent out an invitation to other presidential candidates for a Twitter space.

Contact Tristan Wood at twood@cityandstatefl.com and follow him on Twitter: @TristanDWood. 

NEXT STORY: How far will Ron DeSantis’ presidential bid take him?

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