Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' announcement for the 2024 presidential run faced numerous technical issues on Twitter Wednesday night.
The eagerly awaited declaration was planned to occur during a discussion with Twitter CEO Elon Musk and tech entrepreneur David Sacks on Twitter's "Spaces" feature. However, it was postponed due to what seemed to be an overload on the platform.
Once the technical issues were resolved, DeSantis made his announcement and openly criticized the current administration's economic policies, stating that they are "pricing hardworking Americans out of a good standard of living." He vowed to "reverse those policies and build an economy where working Americans can achieve a good standard of living."
DeSantis also drew attention to the control of the nation's borders. He promised, "We will shut down the border, construct a border wall and hold the drug cartels accountable."
Emphasizing the need for integrity within American institutions, he drew on his own experiences as a Navy and Iraq veteran, stating, "You need to eliminate these distractions, and we need to get focused on the core mission."
DeSantis also reflected on the role of social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. He recalled how he faced "huge blowback" and how he felt "very, very lonely" due to efforts to "stifle dissent."
Praising Musk's commitment to freedom of speech on Twitter, DeSantis said, "The truth was censored repeatedly. And now that Twitter is in the hands of a free speech advocate, that would not be able to happen again on this Twitter platform."
Musk, in turn, pledged to making Twitter a platform for open dialogue, saying, "We're absolutely committed to freedom of speech and a level playing field and just a vigorous debate." He added, "hopefully this can be a platform that brings people of divergent political views to exchange those views."
Musk also recognized the importance of the First Amendment, stating, "the most important amendment, the one that was most urgently added to the Constitution, [is] moot. If you cannot have free and open debate."
The Twitter CEO reinforced his belief in the value of free speech, saying, "Twitter was indeed expensive, but free speech is priceless."
The delay of the DeSantis announcement was noted by President Joe Biden, who tweeted that the link to his re-election campaign website works just fine.
This link works: https://t.co/9PzIJkseYI
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 24, 2023
Now Read: Not Trump Or DeSantis: New Poll Shows Elon Musk Is Most Favorable US Political Figure
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