Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a political roundtable, Friday, May 19, 2023, in Bedford, N.H. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis plans to announce his 2024 presidential campaign in a Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk on Wednesday, according to two people with knowledge of the decision.
DeSantis, who has long been seen as Donald Trump’s leading rival for the Republican nomination, will reveal his plans in an audio conversation with the owner of Twitter, according to the two people, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the announcement publicly.
The timing of DeSantis’ long-expected announcement has been shrouded in secrecy, with various iterations of plans being leaked over the past few days. Some close to him suspected that the Republican governor was providing conflicting information about the timing and location to root out leakers. Others believe he changed his initial preparations after news reports came out about them.
Musk, speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Summit event in London on Tuesday, seemed to confirm the Wednesday event, saying DeSantis would be making “quite an announcement” on Twitter the next day. “The first time something like this is happening on social media,” he said, with live questions and answers.
He added that he is not endorsing any particular candidate at this time.
While it is common for campaigns to publicize their announcements in videos shared on social media, it is far more unusual – and perhaps unprecedented – to hold a campaign announcement in a live social media forum.
“Big if true…” DeSantis’ wife, Casey, posted Tuesday on Twitter, linking to a Fox News story on the announcement and adding a smiley face.
Earlier Tuesday, the Florida governor gave no hints of his 2024 plans during a short Cabinet meeting in Tallahassee where he discussed state business with agency heads. The media was barred from covering a subsequent bill signing ceremony.
With this move, DeSantis is once again taking a page out of the playbook that helped turn his soon-to-be-rival, Trump, into a political star. Twitter was once Trump’s most important megaphone – one he used to dominate his rivals in the 2016 primary and to command the news cycle for years. Trump was barred from the platform after Jan. 6, 2021. Though his access was reinstated shortly after Musk took over, he has yet to tweet.
___
Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report.
